H.R. No. 271

R E S O L U T I O N

WHEREAS, The city of Columbus lost an admired civic leader with the passing of John Alden Hancher on December 30, 2006, at the age of 90; and

WHEREAS, Born to E. Grant and Clara Ladd Hancher in El Campo on January 5, 1916, Mr. Hancher attended school in the El Campo Independent School District, received his undergraduate degree from The University of Texas at Austin, and graduated from The University of Texas School of Law in 1940, the same year in which he was admitted to the Texas State Bar; and

WHEREAS, Following the outbreak of World War II, he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in Winnipeg, Canada, on August 4, 1941, and trained as a pilot; he was sent to England the following year and served with the RCAF before transferring to the U.S. Army Eighth Air Force Bomber Command in London in 1943; this brave airman flew B-17 bombers on missions over France and Germany and contributed to the Allied victory in Europe; he was discharged from the service in August 1945, after the war concluded; and

WHEREAS, After returning to Texas, Mr. Hancher opened a law office in Columbus and practiced there from 1945 until shortly before his death; he also entered public service and was county judge of Colorado County from 1948 to 1954; a prominent figure in the legal profession, he was a member of the State Bar of Texas and the Colorado County Bar Association, serving as its president in the 1950s; and

WHEREAS, A loving husband, father, and grandfather, Mr. Hancher met and married his first wife, Louise Beattie, while stationed in England during the war, and their son, Thomas Beattie, was born in 1946; in 1967, Louise Hancher passed away, and Mr. Hancher wed Mary Saladino Sparrow in 1968; they were together for 24 years, until Mary's death in 1992; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Hancher devoted considerable time to civic organizations; he served as chairman of the board of the Columbus Community Hospital and president of the Columbus Rotary Club and was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 6113 and the American Legion, and he served as a veterans service officer for more than 50 years; he also took great enjoyment in his leisure activities and was an avid fisherman and hunter and a voracious reader; and

WHEREAS, John Hancher will be fondly remembered for his legal skill and community leadership and for a distinguished professional and civic career that touched countless lives; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 80th Texas Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of John Alden Hancher and extend sincere sympathy to the members of his family: to his son, Dr. Thomas Beattie Hancher and his wife, Christine; to his grandchildren, Heather Hancher Thomas and her husband, Ryan, Dr. Shannon Hancher and her husband, Nicholas Hodges, and Blake Hancher; to his stepchildren, Judy Peabody and her husband, Jim, Nancy Miller and her husband, Stephen, Marianne Sparrow, Chip Sparrow and his wife, Sandy, Susan Schwarz and her husband, Brad, and Scott Sparrow and his wife, Kathy; to his step-grandchildren, Ryan, Meredith, and Jenny Schwarz, Alyssa, Andrea, Brandon, and Ashley Miller, Ryan, Aimee, and Spencer Sparrow, and Shana and Peter Prata; to his great-grandchildren, Tyler Alden and Sage Christine Thomas; and to his other relatives and 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 adjourns this day, it do so in memory of John Alden Hancher.

Cook of Colorado

______________________________ Speaker of the House

I certify that H.R. No. 271 was unanimously adopted by a rising vote of the House on March 8, 2007.

______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House