By Smithee H.R. No. 195 74R5798 SRC-D R E S O L U T I O N 1-1 WHEREAS, On February 20, 1995, Jack and Nona Collins of 1-2 Amarillo will reunite in marriage to celebrate the 50th anniversary 1-3 of their first wedding; and 1-4 WHEREAS, Jack and Nona became acquainted in Childress, Jack's 1-5 birthplace and Nona's hometown at the time, when Jack was 19 and 1-6 Nona was 13; and 1-7 WHEREAS, Nona was 14 when Jack first proposed marriage before 1-8 being shipped overseas as a member of the Army Air Corps, but Nona 1-9 declined, and there followed a long-distance courtship of letters 1-10 and pictures between Nona in Oklahoma and Jack "somewhere" in 1-11 England, Africa, or Italy; and 1-12 WHEREAS, Jack returned to American soil on February 11, 1945, 1-13 and he and Nona were married 11 days later, February 22, 1945, 1-14 waiting a total of two days after his arrival at her home before 1-15 being married, in order to pay respect to her father's advice to 1-16 not rush to a decision; and 1-17 WHEREAS, Their union contributed two sons to the postwar baby 1-18 boom, first Terry in 1948 and then Steve in 1951, and Terry and 1-19 Steve were raised to be grown in the Panhandle towns of Childress, 1-20 Borger, Vernon, and Amarillo, the last of which has been Jack and 1-21 Nona's home for 35 years; and 1-22 WHEREAS, With the gifts of intellect, self-confidence, and 1-23 independence given them by their parents, Terry and Steve both 1-24 became lawyers, Terry a noted energy lawyer in private practice in 2-1 Washington, D.C., and in corporate practice in Houston, and Steve a 2-2 longtime counsel to this legislature through his service at the 2-3 Texas Legislative Council; and 2-4 WHEREAS, PappaJack and MammaNo, as they are known to their 2-5 grandchildren and neighborhood children, have been blessed with 2-6 four wonderful grandchildren--Erin, Ryan, Drew, and Shelley--each 2-7 of whom in the eyes of loving grandparents is above average; and 2-8 WHEREAS, Through the 50 years of their marriage, Jack and 2-9 Nona have been blessed with friends and family who have shared 2-10 their lives and who now wish to honor and congratulate them on this 2-11 special occasion; now, therefore, be it 2-12 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 74th Texas 2-13 Legislature hereby extend its congratulations to these fine Texans 2-14 on the occasion of their golden wedding anniversary; and, be it 2-15 further 2-16 RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 2-17 prepared for Jack and Nona Collins as an expression by the Texas 2-18 House of Representatives of its wish for them for many more years 2-19 of companionship and joy.