SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 249


In Memory

of

Samuel Dean Gardner


	WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas joins the 
citizens of Houston in mourning the loss of Samuel Dean Gardner, 
who died January 26, 2005, at the age of 75; and

	WHEREAS, Born in Rising Star, Texas, on February 12, 1929, 
Samuel Dean was one of the 10 children and the youngest of seven 
boys born to Samuel Augustus and Lilla Bertha Griggs Gardner; he 
earned a degree in dairy manufacturing from Texas Tech University 
in 1950 and served in the United States Army during the Korean 
War; and

	WHEREAS, Sam married Jean Evelyn Sealy, a friend of his 
sister Lavanne, in 1951, and the couple enjoyed a long and happy 
marriage; after Sam left the military in 1955, the family moved 
to Houston, and Sam began working with his brother T. D. in his 
ice cream plant; Sam also operated a fleet of ice cream trucks 
under the name Dean's Ice Cream; and

	WHEREAS, Known in his youth as Dean, he began using the 
name Sam when he entered the business world, although Jean still 
sometimes called him Dean; in 1960, the family moved to Lubbock, 
where Sam began working as an accountant for a pipeline 
construction company and had a homebuilding business on the side; 
and

	WHEREAS, The family returned to Houston in 1970, and Sam 
started Sam Gardner Construction Company and built custom homes 
for 20 years; he retired from the construction business, but Sam 
was not the sort of man to remain inactive, and he started a 
container-grown tree farm; and

	WHEREAS, To know Sam was to like him, and over the years, he 
accumulated a host of friends and would drop everything for a 
chance to go fishing with his buddies; he once said to Jean that 
if he was rewarded with a place in Heaven, he hoped he could also 
be rewarded with a fishing pond; and

	WHEREAS, Sam had strong beliefs, and he was prompt and 
precise; he loved life and lived it to the fullest; a generous and 
compassionate man, he supported several churches, Campus Crusade 
for Christ, children's homes, and many medical research 
programs; and

	WHEREAS, He loved his family and his country and he 
enriched the lives of those who knew him with his warmth and 
kindness; he was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather,


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,
79th Legislature, hereby extend sincere condolences to the 
bereaved family of Samuel Dean Gardner:  his wife, Jean;
his daughters and sons-in-law, Kathi Lyn Powell and
Richard H. Powell, Jr., and Karen Jean and
Philip Ronnie Stubblefield; his brothers, James and
T. D. Gardner; his sisters, Lucy Marlo, Dorothy Adams, and 
Lavanne Emery; his grandsons, Richard and Clayton Powell and 
Kevin and Brett Stubblefield; and his great-grandson,
Julian Isaac Stubblefield; and, be it further

	RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared
for 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 Samuel Dean Gardner.
                                                                         Lindsay




________________________________ 
    President of the Senate
 
    I hereby certify that the 
above Resolution was adopted by 
the Senate on February 28, 2005, 
by a rising vote.



________________________________ 
    Secretary of the Senate



________________________________ 
     Member, Texas Senate