[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 157 (Wednesday, September 27, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E895-E896]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          HONORING MARY DENNY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. MICHAEL C. BURGESS

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 27, 2023

  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor the 
late Mary Denny.
  For those who did not have the privilege of knowing her, Mary was a 
valued public servant who gave back to her North Texas community for 
nearly five decades. Today, North Texas mourns her unexpected death on 
September 14, 2023.
  Mary graduated magna cum laude from the University of North Texas in 
1973, with degrees in education and mathematics. Almost immediately 
after graduation she heeded the call to public service, entrusted in 
the role of Denton County precinct chair for ten years. Recognizing her 
dedication and abilities, her friends and colleagues elevated her as 
Chairwoman of the Denton County Republican Party in 1983.
  During her eight years in that position, she became well known not 
just in North Texas, but across the state of Texas--all the way to 
Austin. In 1990, Governor William Clements appointed Mary to the Texas 
Committee for the Humanities for her work in the community.
  One of the greatest honors of her professional life came in 1993, 
when her neighbors and fellow North Texans elected Mary to a seat in 
the Texas House of Representatives, a position they would keep honoring 
her with over and over again.
  While in Austin, her fellow Representatives learned what Mary's 
community already knew. She received numerous awards for her service, 
including the Outstanding Texas Legislator Award and the 1995 Star of 
Service Award from Common Cause.
  Even when her time in the State House drew to a close, that did not 
stop Mary. For years after retiring from elected office, the Denton 
Benefit League, United Way, the Arts Council, City Federation of 
Women's Clubs, the Current Century Department of Ariel Club, and the 
board of the YMCA were all enriched through her involvement. Her 
personal contributions to her community culminated in 2018 when she 
returned to her alma mater, to serve on the Board of Regents of the 
University of North Texas. Of all of her achievements however, she 
always felt her greatest accomplishment was being a mother to her 
beloved son Bryan.
  The Honorable Mary Denny will be remembered in towns as small as 
Aubrey and cities as big as Austin. Her memory and dedication

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to her work will continue to inspire not just her neighbors in Denton 
County but all Texans. I ask that you please keep Mary's family in your 
thoughts and prayers in their time of loss, and to give them the 
strength to carry on Mary's legacy.

                          ____________________