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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, A rich and joyful life drew to a close with the |
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passing of Joseph Vincent Tortorice Sr. of Beaumont on December 20, |
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2014, at the age of 90; and |
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WHEREAS, Joe Tortorice was born in Plaquemine, Louisiana, on |
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September 12, 1924, to Salvatore and Rosa Tortorice, and he was |
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raised in Beaumont; the fifth of seven children, he grew up in a |
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large and loving family, and he learned his strong work ethic at an |
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early age by watching his father, a Sicilian immigrant, rise early |
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and return late each day from the small café that he owned; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Tortorice proved himself a talented athlete in |
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high school, earning selection to the All City teams in football, |
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baseball, and basketball; during his junior year, he left school to |
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enlist in the armed forces, and he served in Europe with the 17th |
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Signal Corps of the 1st Army; he was 19 when he went ashore in |
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Normandy three days after D-Day, and over the ensuing months, he |
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advanced with his unit through France, Holland, Belgium, and into |
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Germany; he was at the Battle of the Bulge, and he helped liberate |
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the concentration camp at Buchenwald; and |
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WHEREAS, Once home again, Mr. Tortorice returned to high |
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school as a senior to complete his education, and there he met his |
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future wife, Margaret Rose Montalbano; they were married for 67 |
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years, until his death, and they raised four children, Joe, Judy, |
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Pinky, and Suzanne; later in life, he was blessed with 15 |
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grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Tortorice began his career as a salesman for a |
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wholesale grocery company; he subsequently struck out on his own, |
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buying a grocery store and building on that business until he owned |
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four groceries, two laundromats, two dry cleaners, and a small |
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sandwich shop, J's BBQ and Washateria; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1976, Mr. Tortorice's son, Joe, built upon that |
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small sandwich shop and opened the first Jason's Deli in a shopping |
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center in Beaumont; from the company's earliest days, Joe Tortorice |
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Sr. provided guidance and financial support, and as the company |
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grew to include 253 locations in 29 states, he remained an |
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inspirational and beloved figure to the company's employees; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Tortorice retired in 1990, and in his newfound |
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leisure he delighted in traveling with his wife, fishing at their |
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beach house, playing golf, and spending many happy hours with his |
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grandchildren and great-grandchildren; a man of strong religious |
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faith, he attended the Manresa Jesuit Retreat in Convent, |
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Louisiana, for 17 years, often accompanied by his sons, |
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sons-in-law, and grandsons; and |
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WHEREAS, A devoted husband, father, and grandfather, Joe |
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Tortorice Sr. was a loving patriarch who was affectionately known |
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as "Pop" to his family and as "Big Joe" to his other family at |
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Jason's Deli; in spite of the physical hardships of his final years, |
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this warm and witty man lived life to the fullest right to the end, |
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and the memory of his determination and boundless joie de vivre will |
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forever inspire all those he has left behind; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Joseph Vincent |
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Tortorice Sr. and extend sincere condolences to the members of his |
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family: to his wife, Margaret Montalbano Tortorice; to his son, |
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Joseph V. Tortorice Jr., and his wife, Shelley Bill; to his |
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daughters, Judy McFarland and her husband, Larry, Pinky Carden and |
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her husband, Bill, and Suzanne Jones and her husband, Dave; to his |
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grandchildren, Joseph V. Tortorice III, Robert C. Tortorice, |
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Ashley C. Messina, Amy Srader, Cody McFarland, Lindsey Parish, |
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Polly Hixson, Kathryn Jefferson, William Carden III, Leesa Carden, |
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Julie Hebert, Ross Jones, Charlie Jones, Hunter Jones, and Taylor |
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Jones; to his great-grandchildren, Joseph, Luke, Lainey, Robert, |
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Josephine, Mary Margaret, Georgia, Olivia, Maceo, Addie, Landon, |
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Brady, Emma, Charles, Rosabelle, and Poppy Rose; and to his other |
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relatives and many friends; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of |
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Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Joseph |
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Vincent Tortorice Sr. |