SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 86


In Memory

of

Maury Maverick, Jr.


	WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas joins the 
citizens of San Antonio in mourning the loss of the 
Honorable Maury Maverick, Jr., former member of the 
Texas House of Representatives, who died on January 28, 2003, 
at the age of 82; and

	WHEREAS, Maury Maverick, Jr., was born to a prominent 
San Antonio family; Maury Maverick, Sr., his father, served 
two terms in the United States House of Representatives and 
was a mayor of San Antonio; and

	WHEREAS, A 1938 graduate of the Texas Military Institute, 
Maury Maverick, Jr., earned a bachelor's degree from 
The University of Texas at Austin in 1942; after serving his 
country in the Marine Corps during World War II, he obtained 
a law degree from Saint Mary's University in 1949; he married 
Julia Orynski in 1966, and the couple settled in San Antonio; and

	WHEREAS, Committed to high ethical principles, he was 
guided by his conscience in all his undertakings, regardless of 
the consequences; he became well known throughout the state as a 
tireless champion of the oppressed and downtrodden and as a 
liberal attorney, legislator, and newspaper columnist; and

	WHEREAS, Mr. Maverick served in the Texas House of Representatives
from 1950 to 1956; he and his fellow liberals stopped passage of 
a bill that would have imposed the death penalty on convicted 
communists; in addition, he was one of a handful of state 
legislators who took a firm stance against the worst acts of the 
McCarthy era; and

	WHEREAS, Maury Maverick established a reputation as a 
highly talented attorney; in 1954, he won his first big victory 
when an appellate court in Austin threw out a law prohibiting 
professional boxing matches between blacks and whites; as a 
lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, he defended 
Madalyn Murray O'Hair, the world-famous atheist; and in a case 
before the United States Supreme Court in the 1960s, he won a 
victory for a San Antonio bookseller accused of keeping seditious 
papers in his home; and

	WHEREAS, In 1980, he began to write a column for the 
San Antonio Express-News; he wrote prolifically during a 
20-year-long career with the newspaper, and a collection of 
more than 1,000 of his columns edited by a history professor at 
Trinity University was published as Texas Iconoclast; and


	WHEREAS, Maury Maverick believed deeply in the democratic 
process, and he was noted for his forthrightness and integrity; a 
man of deep conviction and a true "maverick," he was a tireless 
champion of underdogs, and he will be greatly missed by citizens 
across the state; and

	WHEREAS, Maury Maverick lived his life to the fullest and 
was a devoted husband, and he leaves behind memories that will be 
treasured forever by his family and many friends; now, therefore, 
be it

	RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 
78th Legislature, hereby extend sincere condolences to the 
bereaved family of Maury Maverick, Jr.:  his wife, Julia; 
and his sister, Terrellita Maverick; and, be it further

	RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for 
the members of his family as an expression of deepest sympathy 
from the Texas Senate, and that when the Senate adjourns this 
day, it do so in memory of Maury Maverick, Jr.
                                                          Van de Putte, Madla,  
                                                            Wentworth, Zaffirini





______________________________    ______________________________ 
     Member, Texas Senate               Member, Texas Senate



______________________________    ______________________________ 
     Member, Texas Senate               Member, Texas Senate




______________________________ 
    President of the Senate
 
     I hereby certify that the 
above Resolution was adopted by 
the Senate on January 30, 2003, 
by a rising vote.



______________________________ 
    Secretary of the Senate