|
|
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 16
|
|
|
|
In Memory |
|
of |
|
Montgomery Blackwell Noelke, Jr. |
|
WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas joins the |
|
citizens of Mertzon in mourning the loss of Montgomery Blackwell |
|
"Monte" Noelke, Jr., who died December 6, 2012, at the age of 84; and |
|
WHEREAS, A rancher and writer known for his droll West |
|
Texas wit, Mr. Noelke was a classic cowboy poet; for more than |
|
five decades, his "Shortgrass Country" columns in the San |
|
Angelo-based Livestock Weekly chronicled life on his Irion |
|
County ranch and attracted a devoted flock of readers throughout |
|
the western United States; and |
|
WHEREAS, A fourth-generation rancher, he was born on June |
|
17, 1928, in San Angelo; he attended The University of Texas at |
|
Austin and returned to his childhood home of Mertzon, where he |
|
settled with his late wife, Margaret, and together they raised |
|
eight children; and |
|
WHEREAS, Mr. Noelke revered nature and literature equally, |
|
and friends recall that he was as moved by the birth of a new calf |
|
as by the recital of an Irish poem; he spearheaded an expansion of |
|
the Mertzon Library, and, as president of the Mertzon School |
|
Board, he regularly invited visiting poets to expand the horizons |
|
of young writers in the area; and |
|
WHEREAS, His own horizons were broadened by travel, which |
|
Mr. Noelke enjoyed sharing with his companion of the past 23 |
|
years, the poet cowgirl Cheryl Clayton; the couple posted letters |
|
home to Texas from places as far-flung as Africa, Indonesia, and |
|
the Galapagos Islands; and |
|
WHEREAS, Roundly admired by his community, Mr. Noelke was a |
|
regional character, fond of wearing bow ties and delivering |
|
home-cooked gourmet meals to people in need; his friends recall |
|
that he once received a horse in lieu of payment for his |
|
writing; and |
|
WHEREAS, Mr. Noelke was both a world traveler and a folksy |
|
iconoclast; he was a community servant, a family man, and a |
|
Texas-size character who will be profoundly missed; now, therefore, |
|
be it |
|
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 83rd |
|
Legislature, hereby extend sincere condolences to the bereaved |
|
family of Montgomery Blackwell Noelke, Jr.; and, be it further |
|
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for |
|
the members of his family as an expression of deepest sympathy |
|
from the Texas Senate, and that when the Senate adjourns this |
|
day, it do so in memory of Monte Noelke. |
|
Watson |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
________________________________ |
|
|
President of the Senate |
|
|
|
|
|
I hereby certify that the |
|
|
above Resolution was adopted by |
|
|
the Senate on January 23, 2013, by |
|
|
a rising vote. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
________________________________ |
|
|
Secretary of the Senate |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
________________________________ |
|
|
Member, Texas Senate |