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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The city of Columbus lost an admired civic leader |
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with the passing of John Alden Hancher on December 30, 2006, at the |
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age of 90; and |
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WHEREAS, Born to E. Grant and Clara Ladd Hancher in El Campo |
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on January 5, 1916, Mr. Hancher attended school in the El Campo |
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Independent School District, received his undergraduate degree |
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from The University of Texas at Austin, and graduated from The |
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University of Texas School of Law in 1940, the same year in which he |
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was admitted to the Texas State Bar; and |
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WHEREAS, Following the outbreak of World War II, he enlisted |
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in the Royal Canadian Air Force in Winnipeg, Canada, on August 4, |
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1941, and trained as a pilot; he was sent to England the following |
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year and served with the RCAF before transferring to the U.S. Army |
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Eighth Air Force Bomber Command in London in 1943; this brave airman |
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flew B-17 bombers on missions over France and Germany and |
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contributed to the Allied victory in Europe; he was discharged from |
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the service in August 1945, after the war concluded; and |
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WHEREAS, After returning to Texas, Mr. Hancher opened a law |
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office in Columbus and practiced there from 1945 until shortly |
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before his death; he also entered public service and was county |
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judge of Colorado County from 1948 to 1954; a prominent figure in |
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the legal profession, he was a member of the State Bar of Texas and |
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the Colorado County Bar Association, serving as its president in |
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the 1950s; and |
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WHEREAS, A loving husband, father, and grandfather, Mr. |
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Hancher met and married his first wife, Louise Beattie, while |
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stationed in England during the war, and their son, Thomas Beattie, |
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was born in 1946; in 1967, Louise Hancher passed away, and Mr. |
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Hancher wed Mary Saladino Sparrow in 1968; they were together for 24 |
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years, until Mary's death in 1992; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Hancher devoted considerable time to civic |
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organizations; he served as chairman of the board of the Columbus |
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Community Hospital and president of the Columbus Rotary Club and |
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was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 6113 and the |
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American Legion, and he served as a veterans service officer for |
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more than 50 years; he also took great enjoyment in his leisure |
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activities and was an avid fisherman and hunter and a voracious |
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reader; and |
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WHEREAS, John Hancher will be fondly remembered for his legal |
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skill and community leadership and for a distinguished professional |
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and civic career that touched countless lives; now, therefore, be |
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it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 80th Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of John Alden Hancher and |
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extend sincere sympathy to the members of his family: to his son, |
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Dr. Thomas Beattie Hancher and his wife, Christine; to his |
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grandchildren, Heather Hancher Thomas and her husband, Ryan, Dr. |
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Shannon Hancher and her husband, Nicholas Hodges, and Blake |
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Hancher; to his stepchildren, Judy Peabody and her husband, Jim, |
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Nancy Miller and her husband, Stephen, Marianne Sparrow, Chip |
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Sparrow and his wife, Sandy, Susan Schwarz and her husband, Brad, |
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and Scott Sparrow and his wife, Kathy; to his step-grandchildren, |
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Ryan, Meredith, and Jenny Schwarz, Alyssa, Andrea, Brandon, and |
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Ashley Miller, Ryan, Aimee, and Spencer Sparrow, and Shana and |
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Peter Prata; to his great-grandchildren, Tyler Alden and Sage |
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Christine Thomas; and to his other relatives and friends; and, be it |
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further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of |
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Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of John Alden |
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Hancher. |