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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Family and friends are mourning the loss of attorney |
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and civic leader Robert L. Gillette of Baytown, who died on May 8, |
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2009, at the age of 92; and |
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WHEREAS, Robert Gillette was born in Michigan in 1916 to |
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Horace Bernard Gillette and Helen Lowery Gillette; when he was 10, |
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his family relocated to Houston, and he went on to graduate from San |
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Jacinto High School and The University of Texas; and |
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WHEREAS, While working as a clerk at the Humble Oil Company, |
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Mr. Gillette earned a law degree from the South Texas College of |
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Law; around that time, he met and married the former Sue Alexander, |
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with whom he raised three children and shared a fulfilling marriage |
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for 67 years; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Gillette answered his nation's call to duty |
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during World War II, serving as a judge advocate in the U.S. Army |
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Air Corps, and he and his family later settled in Baytown, where he |
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joined the law firm that eventually became Reid, Strickland and |
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Gillette; specializing in real estate law, he became an expert in |
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processing G.I. home loans for returning veterans, and he and his |
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partners established Bay Title Company to facilitate this work; and |
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WHEREAS, For more than six decades, Mr. Gillette was a |
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leading member of his community; he served as president of the |
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Baytown Chamber of Commerce, the Lee College Foundation, and the |
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Baytown Area Water Authority, and he was a member of the Lions Club |
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and the Rotary Club; moreover, he was a longtime champion of Little |
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League baseball; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1987, Mr. Gillette was appointed as a |
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commissioner of the Port of Houston Authority and, over the course |
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of a 12-year tenure, he played a vital role in securing federal |
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funding to deepen and widen the Houston Ship Channel; he also |
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enjoyed a personal connection to the region's waterways as an avid |
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boater and as a longtime resident of a house on Burnet Bay; and |
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WHEREAS, Robert Gillette contributed significantly to |
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Baytown and Harris County, and memories of his dedication and |
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generosity will not soon be forgotten by all who were privileged to |
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share in the richness of his life; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Robert L. Gillette and |
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extend sincere condolences to the members of his family: to his |
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children, John Gillette and his wife, Diane, Michael Gillette and |
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his wife, LeAnn, and Jane Riggs and her husband, Bruce; to his |
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grandchildren, Leigh Heister and her husband, Kurt, Stephanie Rogas |
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and her husband, Keith, Robert Riggs, John Riggs, Edward Riggs and |
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his wife, Michelle, Rob Gillette and his wife, Anna, Kenneth |
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Gillette, and David Gillette; to his great-grandchildren, Lauren, |
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Stephen, and Sarah Rogas and Meghan, Katherine, Benjamin, and |
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Madeline Heister; 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 Robert L. |
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Gillette. |