| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, At 100 years of age, John Henderson is the oldest |
|
|
living football letterman of The University of Texas at Austin; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Born on December 24, 1912, John Henderson played for |
|
|
the Longhorns from 1933 to 1935, when the university had only 7,000 |
|
|
students and Bevo was a relatively recent addition to the |
|
|
sidelines; wearing the number 35 jersey, he played both offense and |
|
|
defense, as most players did at that time, and he worked on campus |
|
|
to help pay for his tuition, room, and board, because the university |
|
|
did not offer football scholarships; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, After graduating with his bachelor's degree in |
|
|
education, Mr. Henderson married his college sweetheart, |
|
|
Charlotte, and the couple moved to Port Arthur; he taught and |
|
|
coached at a local junior high school for three years before going |
|
|
to work for Humble Oil and Refining Company, which later became |
|
|
Exxon Mobil; Mr. Henderson was employed by the company for 36 |
|
|
years, first in the controller's department and then as head of |
|
|
business services; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, This lifelong UT fan is a charter member of the |
|
|
Longhorn Foundation fund-raising group that supports university |
|
|
athletics; he has loyally attended home football games over the |
|
|
course of six decades, often sitting with Mrs. Henderson in the |
|
|
25-yard-line seats that they first occupied in the 1960s; in 2009, |
|
|
the couple moved back to Austin to live in the Longhorn Village |
|
|
retirement community, where Mr. Henderson is widely considered the |
|
|
"unofficial mayor"; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Mr. Henderson, who passed the century mark in 2012, |
|
|
stays fit by lifting weights and walking at least a mile each day; |
|
|
even now, eight decades after he first wore his Longhorn jersey, his |
|
|
weight is nearly the same as it was in his gridiron playing days; |
|
|
and |
|
|
WHEREAS, A lifelong participant in the rich tradition of UT |
|
|
football, John Henderson is still proudly carrying on his duties as |
|
|
a Texas Ex, and he is a source of wisdom and inspiration to all who |
|
|
are privileged to know him; now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas |
|
|
Legislature hereby honor John Henderson, the oldest living football |
|
|
letterman of The University of Texas at Austin, and extend to him a |
|
|
hearty "Hook 'em Horns" and sincere best wishes for continued |
|
|
happiness; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
|
prepared for Mr. Henderson as an expression of high regard by the |
|
|
Texas House of Representatives. |