A MEMORIAL

RECOGNIZING THE GENEROUS CONTRIBUTION TO THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO OF J. PAUL AND MARY TAYLOR OF MESILLA.

WHEREAS, Representative J. Paul Taylor, who traces his New Mexican roots to Juan de Vaca, a soldier who came to the region with Coronado in 1540, and his wife, Mary Taylor, a writer and historian who recently completed a history of Mesilla, have been fixtures at legislative sessions since 1987; and

WHEREAS, J. Paul and Mary Taylor have long championed the causes of schoolchildren, the underserved and those less fortunate than the rest of us, by both sponsoring legislative initiatives and personally offering less well-publicized acts of kindness; and

WHEREAS, J. Paul and Mary Taylor, the parents of seven, grandparents of seventeen and great-grandparents of one, extended their limitless kindness and generosity to each resident of the state of New Mexico in 2002 by donating their historic 1850s adobe home on the Mesilla plaza, as well as its art and artifacts, to the people of the state through the museum of New Mexico and New Mexico state monuments; and

WHEREAS, the Taylors' home, which has been opened to children for tours in the past, is expected to become a state monument and will serve as a reminder for all New Mexicans and for generations of New Mexicans to come of life in New Mexico today and in the past; and

WHEREAS, to open one's doors to others is in itself a remarkable act of generosity, but to permanently open one's doors to all is a selfless act rarely seen in today's world; and

WHEREAS, J. Paul and Mary Taylor's generous act serves as an example for all New Mexicans to follow;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that on behalf of all New Mexicans, J. Paul and Mary Taylor be recognized for their selfless, utterly personal and generous gift to the people of the state of New Mexico; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be transmitted to J. Paul and Mary Taylor of Mesilla.