| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, Legendary aviation research scientist Dr. Leo |
|
|
Windecker of Cedar Park passed away on February 13, 2010, at the age |
|
|
of 88, and residents of Texas and beyond mourned his passing; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, This remarkable man, who was born on July 9, 1921, in |
|
|
Gull Lake, Saskatchewan, grew up in Karnes City, where his father |
|
|
served as a pastor to the German-speaking communities in the area; |
|
|
demonstrating a fascination with aviation even as a teen, he and his |
|
|
brother began making parachutes out of their mother's tablecloths |
|
|
and launching small animals off the steeple of their father's |
|
|
church; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Leo Windecker served as a medic during World War II |
|
|
and received a commendation for discovering the cause of the |
|
|
amoebic dysentery that was plaguing troops in the South Pacific |
|
|
theater; after being discharged with a Purple Heart for injuries |
|
|
sustained in a Japanese bombing attack, he returned stateside and |
|
|
graduated from The University of Texas Dental School in Houston; he |
|
|
opened his first dental practice in Lake Jackson in 1948; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Still passionate about aviation, Dr. Windecker took |
|
|
his first flying lesson in 1956 and subsequently started |
|
|
experimenting with composite materials to make stronger and safer |
|
|
airplanes; he eventually closed his practice to concentrate |
|
|
full-time on aviation projects, and in 1960, he earned a research |
|
|
grant from the Dow Chemical Company in Freeport; that same year, his |
|
|
wife, Dr. Fairfax Moody Windecker, also closed her dental practice, |
|
|
and the two spent the rest of their careers on aerodynamic research; |
|
|
and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The Windecker Eagle made its first flight in 1967 |
|
|
and won Federal Aviation Administration Certification two years |
|
|
later, setting a standard for all-composite aircraft; three |
|
|
Windecker Eagles are now housed in museums, including the |
|
|
Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy Center in Washington, D.C.; Dr. Windecker |
|
|
donated his personal Eagle, which he had flown throughout the |
|
|
United States and Canada, to the Lake Jackson Historical Museum, |
|
|
where it is displayed in the rotunda; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Based on his knowledge that radar passed through |
|
|
fiberglass composites, Dr. Windecker had another world-changing |
|
|
idea and proposed building a radar-invisible airplane for the U.S. |
|
|
Air Force; after two years of research and development, he |
|
|
delivered the YE-5 Stealth prototype in 1973; his company, |
|
|
Windecker Industries of Midland, also contracted with the military |
|
|
to design and build a remotely piloted vehicle for Lockheed |
|
|
Missiles and Space Company; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Dr. Windecker received 22 U.S. patents and many |
|
|
foreign patents for composite aircraft construction and is widely |
|
|
respected as an aviation pioneer; in 2003, he was inducted into the |
|
|
Texas Aviation Hall of Fame, and he has since been nominated for the |
|
|
National Aviation Hall of Fame; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Dr. Windecker's wife and longtime collaborator, |
|
|
Fairfax, passed away in 1990; fortunate enough to find love again, |
|
|
he married Julia Kay, and the couple enjoyed a wonderful retirement |
|
|
together, before settling in Cedar Park to be near family; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Through his extraordinary insights and inventions, |
|
|
Leo Windecker brought great honor to the Lone Star State, and he |
|
|
left behind an inspiring legacy that will continue to resonate for |
|
|
many years to come; now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas |
|
|
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Dr. Leo Windecker and |
|
|
extend deepest sympathy to the members of his family: to his wife, |
|
|
Julia Windecker; to his sons, Moody "Skipper" Hamilton and his |
|
|
wife, Deni, Robert Windecker and his wife, Judy, Ted Windecker and |
|
|
his wife, Charlotte; to his "bonus" children, Dr. Charles "Chocky" |
|
|
Kay and his wife, Kathy, Linda Fulkerson and her husband, Skip, and |
|
|
Anne Hill; to his siblings, the Reverend Arnold Windecker, Dr. |
|
|
Roland Windecker, and Anita Windecker; to his six grandchildren, |
|
|
five "bonus" grandchildren, one great-grandson, and seven "bonus" |
|
|
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 memory of Leo |
|
|
Windecker. |
| |
|
|
Bonnen |
|
|
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
|
Speaker of the House |
| |
|
|
I certify that H.R. No. 1035 was unanimously adopted by a |
|
|
rising vote of the House on April 21, 2011. |
|
|
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
|
Chief Clerk of the House |
| |