78S40773 KO-D

By:  Gallego                                                      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 a 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.