Celebrate San Antonio to mark Cockrell's farewell

SA Parks Foundation President Lila Cockrell steps down after 13 years

SAN ANTONIO – Celebrate San Antonio, the city's official New Year's Eve party at HemisFair Park, will mark former Mayor Lila Cockrell's farewell after 13 years as president of the San Antonio Parks Foundation that stages the annual event.

Teresa Cox, the foundation's executive vice president, said Cockrell will be honored during a farewell program at Marriott Plaza San Antonio preceding the midnight fireworks display.

"During her tenure, she single-handedly raised over $5 million for numerous city park projects, including the restoration of the Japanese Tea Garden and acquired over 500 acres of dedicated parks space," Cox said.

"I'm looking at what I'm going to be doing," Cockrell said at age 90. "I'm not going to be sitting in a rocking chair, I can tell you that."

Cockrell said she is writing her biography that will encompass her life, much of it devoted to public service, including five terms on city council from 1963-70 and from 1973-75, and four terms as mayor from 1975-81 and from 1989-91.

"I'm trying to write it all myself," Cockrell said. "So, it will from my perspective."

Cockrell said it has been a privilege serving the city she fell in love with the moment she first saw the San Antonio Riverwalk.

"I will forever be grateful to the voters who gave me that opportunity," she said.

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About the Author:

Jessie Degollado has been with KSAT since 1984. She is a general assignments reporter who covers a wide variety of stories. Raised in Laredo and as an anchor/reporter at KRGV in the Rio Grande Valley, Jessie is especially familiar with border and immigration issues. In 2007, Jessie also was inducted into the San Antonio Women's Hall of Fame.