H.R. No. 1153

	R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, Family, friends, and colleagues are mourning the
	loss of Lloyd Franklin Pitts of Dallas, who died on March 16, 2009,
	at the age of 98; and
	WHEREAS, Frank Pitts was born in Wesson, Mississippi, on
	October 7, 1910, to Addie Mae Sandifer and John Loyd Pitts; after
	graduating from Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Wesson in 1930,
	he attended Northwestern University; and
	WHEREAS, In 1935, Mr. Pitts married the former Mary Martha
	McCann, and the couple shared a fulfilling life together for 58
	years, until Mrs. McCann's death in 1993; and
	WHEREAS, Mr. Pitts began his working life with the Nu-Enamel
	Paint Company of Chicago; from 1934 to 1937, he opened paint stores
	for the company across Europe, and at the age of 29 he was made
	president of the international company; his witnessing of the rise
	of fascism in Italy and Germany during those years instilled in him
	an intense love of the freedoms of his own nation; and
	WHEREAS, Returning to the United States, Mr. Pitts became an
	independent oilman, and he was a leader in the petroleum and natural
	gas industry for nearly 70 years; he founded the Pitts Oil Company,
	an oil and gas exploration services firm that continues to this day;
	for 12 years, he was also the chief executive officer of an
	international geophysical company; over the course of his
	remarkable career, he participated in the drilling of more than
	3,000 wells; and
	WHEREAS, Mr. Pitts benefited his professional community
	through his work as president of the Texas Independent Producers
	and Royalty Owners Association for two terms and as chair of the
	Industry Forum of the American Petroleum Institute; he served under
	every secretary of the Department of Energy since 1977 as a member
	of the National Petroleum Council, and he was appointed to the
	Natural Gas Committee of the Independent Petroleum Association of
	America and to the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission; he was
	also a dynamic representative of the industry before state and
	national governmental bodies; and
	WHEREAS, This outstanding entrepreneur was often honored for
	his contributions to the petroleum industry; he received the Chief
	Roughneck Award from the IPAA, the Pioneer of the Year Award from
	the Texas Railroad Commission, the Legend Award from the Texas
	Alliance of Energy Producers, the Mr. TIPRO Award, and the John
	Rogers Award from the Southwestern Legal Foundation, among many
	others; and
	WHEREAS, Mr. Pitts contributed generously to his community as
	well; he helped found and served as chair of the Dallas Council on
	World Affairs, earning the council's H. Neil Mallon Award for
	Distinguished Civic Service; he played a role in the formation of
	the Dallas Opera, and he served as chair and executive committee
	member of the Baylor University Medical Foundation and as a member
	of the board of the Maguire Energy Institute at Southern Methodist
	University; moreover, he endowed four SMU presidential
	scholarships, a scholars fund, and a lecture series on oil and gas;
	in addition, Mr. Pitts was president of the Park Cities Rotary Club,
	a member of the Dallas Citizens Council, and a longtime member and
	deacon of Park Cities Baptist Church; and
	WHEREAS, Throughout a full and productive life, Frank Pitts
	dedicated himself to his family, his career, and his community, and
	the loved ones he leaves behind can take great pride in his
	remarkable legacy; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas
	Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Lloyd Franklin Pitts
	and extend sincere condolences to the members of his family: to his
	daughter, Linda, and her husband, William A. Custard; to his
	grandchildren, W. Allen Custard III and his wife, Mason, Martha E.
	Custard, Laura Custard Hurt and her husband, G. Ellison Hurt III; to
	his brother, Troy N. Pitts; to his sister-in-law, Ida M. Olson; to
	his cousin, Dr. Charles L. Lloyd, Jr., and his wife, Sandy; to his
	four great-grandchildren; 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 honor of Lloyd
	Franklin Pitts.
	Keffer
	Straus Gattis Menendez
	Allen Geren Merritt
	Alonzo Giddings Miklos
	Alvarado Gonzales Miller of Comal
	Anchia Gonzalez Toureilles Miller of Erath
	Anderson Guillen Moody
	Aycock Gutierrez Morrison
	Berman Hamilton Naishtat
	Bohac Hancock Oliveira
	Bolton Hardcastle Olivo
	Bonnen Harless Orr
	Branch Harper-Brown Ortiz, Jr.
	Brown of Kaufman Hartnett Otto
	Brown of Brazos Heflin Parker
	Burnam Hernandez Patrick
	Button Herrero Paxton
	Callegari Hilderbran Peña
	Castro Hochberg Phillips
	Chavez Hodge Pickett
	Chisum Homer Pierson
	Christian Hopson Pitts
	Cohen Howard of Fort Bend Quintanilla
	Coleman Howard of Travis Raymond
	Cook Hughes Riddle
	Corte Hunter Rios Ybarra
	Crabb Isett Ritter
	Craddick Jackson Rodriguez
	Creighton Jones Rose
	Crownover Keffer Sheffield
	Darby Kent Shelton
	Davis of Harris King of Parker Smith of Tarrant
	Davis of Dallas King of Taylor Smith of Harris
	Deshotel King of Zavala Smithee
	Driver Kleinschmidt Solomons
	Dukes Kolkhorst Strama
	Dunnam Kuempel Swinford
	Dutton Laubenberg Taylor
	Edwards Legler Thibaut
	Eiland Leibowitz Thompson
	Eissler Lewis Truitt
	Elkins Lucio III Turner of Tarrant
	England Madden Turner of Harris
	Farabee Maldonado Vaught
	Farias Mallory Caraway Veasey
	Farrar Marquez Villarreal
	Fletcher Martinez Vo
	Flores Martinez Fischer Walle
	Flynn McCall Weber
	Frost McClendon Woolley
	Gallego McReynolds Zerwas
	______________________________
	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.R. No. 1153 was unanimously adopted by a
	rising vote of the House on April 15, 2009.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House