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Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said she is keenly feeling the passing of Texas civil and women's rights powerhouse Frances Tarlton "Sissy" Farenthold who died last month.
Hidalgo said in her Wednesday, Sept. 27, Twitter post that she was "saddened" when she heard about "the loss of trailblazer Sissy Farenthold."
"Sissy showed us that you can change Texas with righteous anger and unflappable ethics," the county judge continued in her Twitter post. "She stood by me from the very beginning. I'll miss her and feel lucky to have met her."
Farenthold died the day following a long battle with Parkinson's disease. She was six days shy of her 95th birthday.
She was born Oct. 2, 1926 in Corpus Christi, Texas, the daughter of Catherine "Catty" Bluntzer and Benjamin Dudley Tarlton Jr. Her father was a successful attorney and social justice campaigner.
Farenthold's life story cannot be briefly told without leaving out so much, though lengthy bios have been published by the University of Texas at Austin Law School and, more recently as part of her obituary at Legacy.com.
In some ways, she was made from admirable contradictions. She was born to privilege but was a passionate advocate for civil and women's rights. She was one of only eight women out of a class of almost 300 to graduated from the University of Texas School of Law in 1949 and she went on to build practice law when few women did. She was the only woman in the state House when she was elected to represent Nueces and Kleberg Counties in 1968 and she co-sponsored the Texas Equal Rights Amendment, which was passed in 1972.
She was twice listed on former President Richard Nixon's "Enemies List."
When she retired, she continued on as honorary director of Rothko Chapel, Rapoport Center for Human Rights board and at the Justice of UT Law, all the while giving voice to human rights efforts in Houston and worldwide.
Among those who released statements of condolence on her passing was Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, who described Farenthold's life as "an inspiration to women, people of color and the powerless."
"She was a dogged defender of civil rights and a fierce advocate for women in public office," Turner continued in his Wednesday, Sept. 27 statement. "I will always admire her courage to campaign for the Texas House of Representatives and run twice for governor at a time when women did not run for public office."
She is still needed, Turner said.
"Now more than ever, Texas needs leaders who can unite rather than divide us and who dare to fight for abortion rights, voting access, the poor, and families and children," he said. "I will miss Sissy Farenthold. There will never be another like her."