H.R. No. 1772

R E S O L U T I O N

WHEREAS, The city of Corpus Christi lost an admired citizen with the passing of oilman and philanthropist C. C. Winn on February 20, 2015, at the age of 86; and

WHEREAS, Charles Coleman Winn was born on June 18, 1928, in Long Beach, California, to a family of Texans who soon followed the oil boom back to their home state; while a student at William Adams High School in Alice, "Charlie" Winn took his first job as an oil field roughneck; the salary he earned allowed him to attend Texas A&M University--Kingsville and The University of Texas at Austin before he was forced to abandon his studies due to lack of funds; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Winn later became an oil scout and enjoyed his first professional success while drilling a well in Karnes County; the discovery proved to be the start of a prosperous career in the oil industry, and he went on to establish what would become a highly lucrative international oil firm in Corpus Christi; under his leadership, Winn Exploration Company, Inc., eventually operated oil and gas wells across Texas and nine other states, as well as in Canada and Australia; and

WHEREAS, Excelling at nearly every project he took on, Mr. Winn pursued interests in banking, real estate, nanotechnology, and medical research and development; he was named an All-American Wildcatter in 1993, and in 1996, he accepted the M. B. Rudman Outstanding Wildcatter Award; he served on the National Petroleum Council until 1999, and in 2006, he received the Texas Oil and Gas Association's highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Winn treated those who worked for him as family, and he made it a point to share his good fortune with them; he was known to buy his employees' lunches out of his own pocket almost every single day, and remembering the difficulties he had faced as a student of limited means, he helped put several of their children through college; his extraordinary generosity extended beyond his company, and each year he purchased Christmas presents for orphans in Piedras Negras in Mexico; and

WHEREAS, A prominent civic leader, Mr. Winn served on trustee, development, and advisory boards for a multitude of businesses and organizations in South Texas, including American Bank in Corpus Christi, Baptist Children and Family Services, and CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Hospital in San Antonio; repeatedly honored for his philanthropy, he was recognized by the International Good Neighbor Council in 1984 and 1999 for his efforts to promote friendly relations between the people of the United States and Mexico; he also received praise for his commitment to conservation and wildlife research, and he helped fund a program that would enable area teachers to use the Texas State Aquarium as an educational resource; and

WHEREAS, This kind and caring gentleman cherished his family above all else; he shared a deep bond of love with his wife of nearly 65 years, Patsy, and he derived great joy from the time he spent with their five children, Stephanie, C. A., Tom, Southern, and Sissy, as well as with their nine grandchildren and their great-granddaughter; his faith was also a source of great comfort and inspiration to him throughout his days; and

WHEREAS, Although Charlie Winn's hard work and ingenuity made him a classic American success story, it is perhaps his honesty and integrity and the close ties of affection he nurtured with his loved ones that speak most eloquently to the immeasurable impact of his life; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of C. C. Winn and extend sincere sympathy to the members of his family: to his wife, Patsy Winn; to his children, Stephanie Winn, C. A. Winn and his wife, Nancy, Tom Winn and his wife, Melissa, and Southern Winn and his wife, Cathy; to his grandchildren, Megan Winn and her husband, Chris Mei, and Cathleen, Dillon, Southern, Cody, Amy, Trey, Sissy, and Nicole Winn; to his great-granddaughter, Vivian Marie Winn; to his nieces, Caroline Szepessy, and her husband, Andy, and Charlcie Goodman; to his nephew, Sedge Middleton; and to his other relatives, employees, and many dear 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 C. C. Winn.

Herrero

______________________________ Speaker of the House

I certify that H.R. No. 1772 was unanimously adopted by a rising vote of the House on May 7, 2015.

______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House