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H.C.R. No. 125
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The certain knowledge of a life well lived may
temper the sorrow felt at the passing of the Honorable Frederick
Joseph Agnich of Dallas on October 28, 2004, at the age of 91; and
WHEREAS, A successful business executive and prominent civic
leader, Mr. Agnich was also a longtime Republican activist and a
former nine-term member of the Texas Legislature; and
WHEREAS, Fred Agnich was born in Eveleth, Minnesota, on July
19, 1913; after earning a degree in geology from the University of
Minnesota in 1937, he moved to Dallas and joined a petroleum
prospecting firm, Geophysical Service, Inc. (GSI); he served as
president of GSI from 1955 to 1959 and as an officer and director of
its parent company, Texas Instruments, Inc., from 1953 to 1961; and
WHEREAS, Following his departure from TI, Mr. Agnich turned
his attention to independent oil and gas ventures and ranching; and
WHEREAS, This dynamic Texan played a key role in building the
Republican Party in Dallas County; in addition to his longtime
fund-raising, which he first undertook in 1952, he served as county
chairman from 1967 to 1969, as a member of the state executive
committee from 1969 to 1972, as a Texas committeeman for the
Republican National Committee (RNC) from 1972 to 1976, and as vice
chairman of the RNC from 1974 to 1976; he also served as Dallas
County chairman for Barry Goldwater and John Connally in their
presidential bids; and
WHEREAS, Elected to nine consecutive terms in the Texas House
of Representatives, Mr. Agnich displayed his characteristic
boldness during his first term, when he joined a reform-minded
coalition of Republicans and Democrats known as the Dirty Thirty;
later, as chair of the Environmental Affairs Committee, he authored
the Wildlife Conservation Act of 1983, which entrusted the fish and
wildlife of the state to the care of biologists and professional
managers; he also served on the appropriations and energy
committees; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Agnich gave generously of his time and talents
to the Greenhill School, holding the posts of director and chairman
of the board of governors, and was instrumental in establishing the
school at its present site; he also served as a trustee for the
Southwest Center for Advanced Studies, now The University of Texas
at Dallas, and as a director for the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts,
Dallas Civic Opera, Dallas Historical Society, and Dallas Petroleum
Club; and
WHEREAS, Bearing the name of this esteemed gentleman are a
ship in the GSI fleet, a scholarship administered by the Texas
Association of Professional Geoscientists, and the science
building at Greenhill School; and
WHEREAS, Fred Agnich was married to Ruth Welton Agnich, who
died in 1975, and to Brooksie Penland Agnich, who survives him; and
WHEREAS, Held in high regard by individuals across the
political spectrum, Mr. Agnich embraced life and adventure and
brought to all his pursuits a hearty zestfulness and unshakeable
integrity; he is sorely missed and will be forever treasured by
those who were privileged to be a part of his world; now, therefore,
be it
RESOLVED, That the 79th Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby pay special tribute to the life of Frederick Joseph Agnich
and extend deepest sympathy to the members of his family: to his
wife, Brooksie Penland Agnich; to his sons and their spouses,
William Agnich, Richard and Tory Agnich, and James and Betsy
Agnich; to his stepchildren and their spouses, Annette and Hal
Steinman, Pebble and Zach Fry, Julia and Jerry Klein, Raymond and
Toby Willie, and Brook Willie; to his grandchildren, Robert,
Jonathan, Barbara, and Sarah Agnich, Michael Agnich and his wife,
Kelli, Bruce Agnich and his wife, Traci, Travis Vaden, Brandon and
Heather Gonzales, and Brooklyn and Raylee Willie; to his
great-grandchildren, Samantha and Dylan Agnich; to his sister,
Dorothea Grigg; and to his other relatives and many friends; 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 and Senate adjourn this day, they do so in memory of
former State Representative Frederick Joseph Agnich.
Hartnett
Craddick Geren Menendez
Allen of Harris Giddings Merritt
Allen of Dallas Gonzales Miller
Alonzo Gonzalez Toureilles Moreno of Harris
Anchia Goodman Moreno of El Paso
Anderson Goolsby Morrison
Bailey Griggs Mowery
Baxter Grusendorf Naishtat
Berman Guillen Nixon
Blake Haggerty Noriega
Bohac Hamilton Oliveira
Bonnen Hamric Olivo
Branch Hardcastle Orr
Brown of Kaufman Harper-Brown Otto
Brown of Brazos Hartnett Paxton
Burnam Hegar Pena
Callegari Herrero Phillips
Campbell Hilderbran Pickett
Casteel Hill Pitts
Castro Hochberg Puente
Chavez Hodge Quintanilla
Chisum Homer Raymond
Coleman Hope Reyna
Cook of Navarro Hopson Riddle
Cook of Colorado Howard Ritter
Corte Hughes Rodriguez
Crabb Hunter Rose
Crownover Hupp Seaman
Davis of Harris Isett Smith of Tarrant
Davis of Dallas Jackson Smith of Harris
Dawson Jones of Lubbock Smithee
Delisi Jones of Dallas Solis
Denny Keel Solomons
Deshotel Keffer of Dallas Strama
Driver Keffer of Eastland Straus
Dukes King of Parker Swinford
Dunnam King of Zavala Talton
Dutton Kolkhorst Taylor
Edwards Krusee Thompson
Eiland Kuempel Truitt
Eissler Laney Turner
Elkins Laubenberg Uresti
Escobar Leibowitz Van Arsdale
Farabee Luna Veasey
Farrar Madden Villarreal
Flores Martinez Vo
Flynn Martinez Fischer West
Frost McCall Wong
Gallego McClendon Woolley
Gattis McReynolds Zedler
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.C.R. No. 125 was unanimously adopted by a
rising vote of the House on April 7, 2005.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.C.R. No. 125 was unanimously adopted by a
rising vote of the Senate on April 13, 2005.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor