By Uher                                                H.R. No. 102
         77R4199 MW-D                           
                                 R E S O L U T I O N
 1-1           WHEREAS, The family and friends of Robert Jay "Bob" Wilkinson
 1-2     of Bay City were deeply saddened by the passing of this esteemed
 1-3     Texan on September 22, 2000, at the age of 84; and
 1-4           WHEREAS, Born in Collegeport on September 9, 1916,
 1-5     Mr. Wilkinson was salutatorian for his 1934 graduating class at Bay
 1-6     City High School; he received a journalism degree from The
 1-7     University of Texas at Austin, where he played for the Longhorn
 1-8     Band and belonged to Sigma Delta Chi, a national honorary and
 1-9     professional journalism fraternity; he also worked for The Daily
1-10     Texan and wrote the first story about illuminating the UT tower
1-11     orange following a football victory; and
1-12           WHEREAS, In 1938 Mr. Wilkinson began his career in journalism
1-13     as a sports editor and news reporter for the Daily Tribune in Bay
1-14     City; on January 1, 1940, he became editor of The Herald, a weekly
1-15     Bay City newspaper; and
1-16           WHEREAS, He joined the United States Navy in 1943;
1-17     maintaining ties to journalism, he edited the naval base newspaper
1-18     The Beam while stationed at Corpus Christi Naval Training Center
1-19     and then served aboard the U.S.S. Lind with the third and fifth
1-20     fleets in the Pacific Theater; and
1-21           WHEREAS, On September 2, 1945, Mr. Wilkinson had the unique
1-22     honor of witnessing the Japanese surrender ceremony on the U.S.S.
1-23     Missouri; afterward he participated in the occupation force in
1-24     Japanese waters before being honorably discharged in February 1946;
 2-1     and
 2-2           WHEREAS, In June 1946, Mr. Wilkinson published the first
 2-3     issue of the Bay City News; after 11 years he sold the paper to
 2-4     devote himself solely to the oil business with his father at The
 2-5     Business of W. W. Wilkinson and Sons; in 1968, Mr. Wilkinson became
 2-6     an independent oil operator, and in 1977 he was joined in business
 2-7     by his son, Robert J. "Bobby" Wilkinson; and
 2-8           WHEREAS, Mr. Wilkinson was an accomplished musician who
 2-9     enjoyed playing in local dance orchestras and the Bay City
2-10     Municipal Band, and he was an active participant in civic matters;
2-11     a congregant of the First Presbyterian Church, he was a founding
2-12     member of the Bay City Country Club and Matagorda Co. Texas Exes,
2-13     the Petroleum Club of Houston, and many other organizations; and
2-14           WHEREAS, This prosperous businessman and diversely talented
2-15     Texan accumulated a host of rich experiences, succeeded in numerous
2-16     endeavors, and contributed much to his family, community, and the
2-17     Lone Star State; Mr. Wilkinson will be greatly missed but fondly
2-18     remembered, and his spirit will undoubtedly live on in the hearts
2-19     of those people he so deeply affected; now, therefore, be it
2-20           RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 77th Texas
2-21     Legislature hereby honor the memory of Robert Jay Wilkinson and
2-22     extend sincere sympathy to the members of his family:  to his wife,
2-23     Luceile Wilkinson; to his son, Bobby Wilkinson, and his wife,
2-24     Peggy; to his daughter, Martha Lake, and her husband, Clayton; to
2-25     his grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and to his many other
2-26     relatives and friends; and, be it further
2-27           RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
 3-1     prepared for the members of his family and that when the Texas
 3-2     House of Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of
 3-3     Robert Jay Wilkinson.