By Siebert H.R. No. 713
74R11620 PAN-D
R E S O L U T I O N
1-1 WHEREAS, April 27, 1995, is indeed a significant milestone in
1-2 the life of Frank L. Duncan for it marks the occasion of his 80th
1-3 birthday, and it gives the members of this chamber great pleasure
1-4 to welcome him to the State Capitol on his special day and to honor
1-5 him as a man who has not only lived life, but has embraced it to
1-6 the fullest; and
1-7 WHEREAS, The father of our esteemed colleague, the Honorable
1-8 Robert Duncan, the elder Mr. Duncan is a native Texan who was born
1-9 in Lubbock, where he would graduate from Texas Tech University in
1-10 1939 with a bachelor's degree in agronomy; and
1-11 WHEREAS, After college, Mr. Duncan was initially employed by
1-12 the Farm and Home Administration and went on to accept a position
1-13 as a soil scientist mapping soils in Coleman and Taylor counties;
1-14 and
1-15 WHEREAS, Mr. Duncan enlisted in the U.S. Navy and, in that
1-16 capacity, served his country with unflinching bravery in such
1-17 pivotal military engagements as Guam, Okinawa, and Iwo Jima; and
1-18 WHEREAS, During his harrowing tour of duty, he drew great
1-19 comfort from the knowledge that his new bride was eagerly awaiting
1-20 his return, for he had married his college sweetheart, the former
1-21 Robena Mae Formby, on May 13, 1941; and
1-22 WHEREAS, After completing his military duty, he returned home
1-23 to Texas and rejoined the Soil Conservation Service, mapping soil
1-24 in the Trinity River bottom land area of Denton and Wise counties;
2-1 Mr. Duncan later served as area soil scientist for Vernon until the
2-2 early 1950s, when he was named district conservationist for the
2-3 area; and
2-4 WHEREAS, During an outstanding tenure that spanned two
2-5 decades, Mr. Duncan helped to safeguard the environment by ensuring
2-6 that thousands of miles of terraces were constructed, watershed
2-7 treatment was carried out on a number of the main drainage areas in
2-8 Wilbarger County, many ponds were constructed, and conservation
2-9 cropping systems were carried out on hundreds of acres; and
2-10 WHEREAS, In addition, he played a key role in the success of
2-11 the Great Plains Conservation Program, an innovative contract
2-12 program that paid farmers for carrying out specific conservation
2-13 projects on their lands; and
2-14 WHEREAS, Though he retired from the Soil Conservation Service
2-15 in 1973, he didn't slow down and soon began a new chapter in his
2-16 multifaceted career in the form of a daily radio program and
2-17 employment as an agricultural representative at a local bank;
2-18 Mr. Duncan also assisted the Corps of Army Engineers in taking soil
2-19 samples of salinity areas along the Red River in Texas and
2-20 Oklahoma; and
2-21 WHEREAS, Throughout his lifetime, Mr. Duncan has been
2-22 supported in all his endeavors by his devoted wife, "Row," who also
2-23 deserves some credit on her husband's special day for having had
2-24 the patience of a saint over the course of the past 54 years; the
2-25 couple's marriage has been blessed with five children, Frankie
2-26 Locke, Carol Wright, Mary Burgess, Robert Duncan, and Jill Hladik,
2-27 and, in recent years, their close-knit family has grown to include
3-1 12 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren; and
3-2 WHEREAS, At 80 years old, this spry octogenarian can indeed
3-3 look back on his accomplishments with great pride for he has
3-4 greatly contributed to the conservation of Texas' environment over
3-5 the course of his professional career and is dearly loved by his
3-6 extensive circle of family and friends; now, therefore, be it
3-7 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 74th Texas
3-8 Legislature hereby pay tribute to Frank L. Duncan and extend
3-9 warmest congratulations to him on the occasion of his 80th
3-10 birthday; and, be it further
3-11 RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
3-12 prepared for Mr. Duncan as an expression of high regard by the
3-13 Texas House of Representatives.