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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Family and friends were deeply saddened by the loss |
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of Houston businessman and community leader Gilbert Manly Turner, |
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who passed away on February 14, 2011, at the age of 88; and |
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WHEREAS, Born on March 18, 1922, in the Travis Peak community |
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of Travis County to George Manly and Anna Marie Gerstman Turner, |
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Gilbert Turner grew up in Milam County and then enrolled at Texas |
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A&M University in 1941, holding three part-time jobs while |
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maintaining a perfect grade point average; he left in 1943 for |
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officer's training school, and served in the United States Army |
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from 1944 to 1946, returning afterwards to graduate at the top of |
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his class; he was a member of the national championship pistol team, |
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the rifle team, and the Distinguished Students Council, and he was |
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president of the Accounting Society; and |
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WHEREAS, While working as a CPA in 1948, Mr. Turner helped to |
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begin a company that eventually became BorTunCo, the largest boring |
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and tunneling company in the country, and his patented inventions |
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and innovations in machinery and methods revolutionized the |
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industry; he also contributed to the invention of a drilling |
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machine approved by the Alaska Pipeline authorities and used all |
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over the world; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Turner was additionally one of the founders, and |
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later the chair of the board and CEO, of the American Steel Building |
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Company, which specialized in pre-engineered buildings such as |
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airplane hangars, sports arenas, and industrial and commercial |
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structures; and |
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WHEREAS, During the Reagan administration, Mr. Turner was |
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appointed by the secretary of defense to serve as chair of the |
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National Committee of Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve; he |
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was a member of the board of trustees of Houston Baptist University, |
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and chaired that body for 19 years, additionally serving as chair of |
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the president's council and the development council; the recipient |
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of an honorary doctorate from the university, he established and |
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funded a number of endowed scholarships for students; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Turner also created scholarships in perpetuity |
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at his alma mater, Texas A&M, and served on the Chancellor's Century |
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Council; he was a member of the Houston Aggie Club and the Diamond |
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Century Club, sponsored Texas A&M basketball and football |
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programming, and was named a distinguished alumnus in 1984; and |
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WHEREAS, This industrious Texan shared his time and talents |
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with the Houston Chamber of Commerce and Rotary International, and |
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he was appointed by Governor Bill Clements to the San Jacinto Water |
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Authority board; a man of strong faith, he was an active member of |
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the Second Baptist Church, and he further distinguished himself as |
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the chair of the Billy Graham Crusade for Houston and the Gulf Coast |
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in 1981; moreover, he served with Youth for Christ for 30 years; and |
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WHEREAS, Known for his honesty and trustworthiness, he |
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delighted in travelling, ranching, and taking on challenges, and |
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above all, his family; he shared 64 years of marriage with his wife, |
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Claydene, before her passing, and he welcomed three children, five |
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grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren into his family; and |
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WHEREAS, While the death of Gilbert Turner has brought much |
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sorrow to his loved ones, he has left behind a legacy that will long |
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serve as a testament to his admirable and accomplished life; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of Gilbert Manly |
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Turner and extend sincere sympathy to the members of his family: to |
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his children, Lillian Porter and her husband, Jim, and Gregg Manly |
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Turner; to his grandchildren, Cathy Jones and her husband, Tim, |
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Alan Mac Neil and his wife, Julie, Andrew Mac Neil, and Cameron |
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Turner; to his brother, Eugene Turner; to his sisters, Lucinda |
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Elliott and Annabelle Jantzen; and to his other relatives and |
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friends; and, be it 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 Gilbert |
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Manly Turner. |