H.R. No. 130
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The city of Odessa and the State of Texas lost a
dedicated and respected public servant with the death of Judge Paul
McCollum on March 30, 2004, at the age of 79; and
WHEREAS, Born in Comanche on March 13, 1925, Paul McCollum
moved with his family to Odessa in 1940 at the beginning of his
junior year in high school; after graduating from Odessa High
School in 1942, he attended college for one semester before being
sworn in the U.S. Army Air Corps as an aviation cadet; he became the
youngest bombardier cadet ever to be graduated and commissioned
when he was awarded his wings and a 2nd Lieutenant commission at the
age of 18; and
WHEREAS, A true hero of World War II, Judge McCollum and his
crew were shot down over Romania and interned by Turkey before
escaping and making their way to Egypt; for his outstanding service
to his country, he was awarded two air medals, the European Theater
of Operations medal with three battle stars, the
Mediterranean-North African Theater of Operations medal with one
battle star, and the North American Theater of Operations medal;
and
WHEREAS, After the war ended, Judge McCollum attended Baylor
University, where he graduated with a J.D. degree in 1950; after
practicing law for three years in Odessa, he served Ector County as
county judge for two years and district judge for five years; in
1961, he resigned from the district court bench to practice law with
Shafer, Davis, McCollum, Ashley, O'Leary & Stoker for the next 32
years; in 1994, he was appointed justice for the Eighth Court of
Appeals and from 1995 until the time of his death, he served as
former and senior justice of that court; and
WHEREAS, Judge McCollum was admitted to practice before all
courts of Texas, the U.S. district courts, the U.S. courts of appeal
for the fifth and eleventh circuits, and the U.S. Supreme Court;
throughout his professional career, he served on and chaired
committees of the State Bar of Texas, including the prestigious
State Bar Conference of Lawyers and Claims Adjusters; he also
served four terms as director of and as vice president of the Texas
Young Lawyers Association and was one of 300 conferees invited to
participate in the World Law Institute in 1997, hosted by President
Jimmy Carter and President Mikhail Gorbachev; and
WHEREAS, In addition to his exceptional career in private
practice and public service, Judge McCollum also found the time to
take part in innumerable community organizations, serving as
president of the Odessa Town Hall Association, director of the
Odessa Boys Club, president of the Odessa Naturalist Society,
director of the Odessa Crystal Ball Foundation, and a founding
member of The University of Texas of the Permian Basin; other
affiliations included the Odessa Chamber of Commerce, the Odessa
Rotary Club, the Odessa Masonic Lodge No. 955, and the Odessa Park
Advisory Board; and
WHEREAS, A devoted family man, a lover of the law, and a
delightful raconteur, Judge McCollum lived a life of great service
to his country, to his community, and to the State of Texas;
described by friends and colleagues as an ideal American citizen
with great personal dignity, he leaves behind a legacy of public
service and professional accomplishments that will long resonate in
the minds and hearts of all those who were privileged to know him;
now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 78th Texas
Legislature, 4th Called Session, hereby pay tribute to the life of
Judge Paul McCollum and extend sincere sympathy to the members of
his family: to his wife of 52 years, Alice Holland McCollum; to his
daughter, Kathleen M. McCulloch, and her husband, Michael; to his
son, Rector Choc McCollum, and his wife, Jill; to his
grandchildren, Travis Paul McCollum and Hannah Kathleen McCollum;
and to his many friends and colleagues; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of
Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Judge Paul
McCollum.
Gallego
Craddick Geren Mercer
Allen Giddings Merritt
Alonzo Goodman Miller
Bailey Goolsby Moreno of Harris
Baxter Griggs Moreno of El Paso
Berman Grusendorf Morrison
Bohac Guillen Mowery
Bonnen Gutierrez Naishtat
Branch Haggerty Nixon
Brown of Kaufman Hamilton Noriega
Brown of Brazos Hamric Oliveira
Burnam Hardcastle Olivo
Callegari Harper-Brown Paxton
Campbell Hartnett Pena
Canales Heflin Phillips
Capelo Hegar Pickett
Casteel Hilderbran Pitts
Castro Hill Puente
Chavez Hochberg Quintanilla
Chisum Hodge Raymond
Christian Homer Reyna
Coleman Hope Riddle
Cook of Navarro Hopson Ritter
Cook of Colorado Howard Rodriguez
Corte Hughes Rose
Crabb Hunter Seaman
Crownover Hupp Smith of Tarrant
Davis of Harris Isett Smith of Harris
Davis of Dallas Jones of Lubbock Smithee
Dawson Jones of Bexar Solis
Delisi Jones of Dallas Solomons
Denny Keel Stick
Deshotel Keffer of Dallas Swinford
Driver Keffer of Eastland Talton
Dukes King Taylor
Dunnam Kolkhorst Telford
Dutton Krusee Thompson
Edwards Kuempel Truitt
Eiland Laney Turner
Eissler Laubenberg Uresti
Elkins Lewis Van Arsdale
Ellis Luna Villarreal
Escobar Mabry West
Farabee Madden Wilson
Farrar Marchant Wise
Flores Martinez Fischer Wohlgemuth
Flynn McCall Wolens
Gallego McClendon Wong
Garza McReynolds Woolley
Gattis Menendez Zedler
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 130 was unanimously adopted by a
rising vote of the House on May 11, 2004.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House