By: Bivins S.R. No. 221 1-1 SENATE RESOLUTION 1-2 WHEREAS, On February 20, 1995, Jack and Nona Collins of 1-3 Amarillo will reunite in marriage to celebrate the 50th anniversary 1-4 of their first wedding; and 1-5 WHEREAS, Jack and Nona became acquainted in Childress, Jack's 1-6 birthplace and Nona's hometown at the time, when Jack was 19 and 1-7 Nona was 13; and 1-8 WHEREAS, Nona was 14 when Jack first proposed marriage before 1-9 being shipped overseas as a member of the Army Air Corps, but Nona 1-10 declined, and there followed a long-distance courtship of letters 1-11 and pictures between Nona in Oklahoma and Jack "somewhere" in 1-12 England, Africa, or Italy; and 1-13 WHEREAS, Jack returned to American soil on February 11, 1945, 1-14 and he and Nona were married 11 days later, February 22, 1945, 1-15 waiting a total of two days after his arrival at her home before 1-16 being married, in order to pay respect to her father's advice to 1-17 not rush to a decision; and 1-18 WHEREAS, Their union contributed two sons to the postwar baby 1-19 boom, first Terry in 1948 and then Steve in 1951, and Terry and 1-20 Steve were raised in the Panhandle towns of Childress, Borger, 1-21 Vernon, and Amarillo, the last of which has been Jack and Nona's 1-22 home for 35 years; and 1-23 WHEREAS, With the gifts of intellect, self-confidence, and 2-1 independence given them by their parents, Terry and Steve both 2-2 became lawyers, Terry a noted energy lawyer in private practice in 2-3 Washington, D.C., and in corporate practice in Houston, and Steve a 2-4 longtime counsel to this legislature through his service at the 2-5 Texas Legislative Council; and 2-6 WHEREAS, PappaJack and MammaNo, as they are known to their 2-7 grandchildren and neighborhood children, have been blessed with 2-8 four wonderful grandchildren--Erin, Ryan, Drew, and Shelley--each 2-9 of whom in the eyes of loving grandparents is above average; and 2-10 WHEREAS, Through the 50 years of their marriage Jack and 2-11 Nona have been blessed with friends and family who have shared 2-12 their lives and who now wish to honor and congratulate them on this 2-13 special occasion; now, therefore, be it 2-14 RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 2-15 74th Legislature, hereby extend its congratulations to these fine 2-16 Texans on the occasion of their golden wedding anniversary; and, 2-17 be it further 2-18 RESOLVED, That an official copy of this Resolution be 2-19 prepared for Jack and Nona Collins as an expression by the 2-20 Texas Senate of its wish for them for many more years of 2-21 companionship and joy. 2-22 ______________________________________ 2-23 President of the Senate 2-24 I hereby certify that the above 2-25 Resolution was adopted by the Senate 3-1 on February 15, 1995. 3-2 ______________________________________ 3-3 Secretary of the Senate 3-4 ______________________________________ 3-5 Member, Texas Senate