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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The Honorable L. DeWitt Hale, a distinguished former |
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member of the Texas House of Representatives, is celebrating his |
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100th birthday on June 10, 2017, and this momentous milestone is |
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indeed deserving of special recognition; and |
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WHEREAS, Born in Caddo Mills in 1917, DeWitt Hale grew up in |
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Farmersville; while still a student at The University of Texas at |
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Austin, he was elected to represent Collin County in the Texas |
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House, and at the age of 21, he was the youngest member of the 46th |
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Legislature; he served one term, from 1939 to 1940, and having |
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completed his law degree, he joined the Office for Emergency |
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Management in Washington, D.C., in 1941; during World War II, he |
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served in the United States Army Air Forces, rising to the rank of |
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first lieutenant; and |
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WHEREAS, Following his return to civilian life, Mr. Hale |
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settled in Corpus Christi to practice law, and in 1952, he was |
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elected to the Texas House from Nueces County; serving in that |
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office until 1963 and again from 1965 until 1978, he proved himself |
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a master parliamentarian and persuasive advocate with an extensive |
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knowledge of the issues of the day; he held many leadership roles, |
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among them speaker pro tempore, chair of the House Judiciary |
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Committee, co-chair of the Constitutional Convention Planning |
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Committee, delegate to the Texas Constitutional Convention of 1974, |
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and chair of the Convention Judiciary Committee; he led the House |
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Select Committee on Impeachment that engineered the state's first |
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impeachment since 1923, and he chaired the Committee of the Whole |
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House, which handled the Articles of Address against a justice of |
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the Texas Supreme Court; in addition, as chair of the House General |
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Investigating Committee, he led a probe into the East Texas |
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slant-hole scandal, a history of illicit drilling that involved the |
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theft of some $100 million worth of oil; and |
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WHEREAS, During his legislative tenure, Mr. Hale played a |
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vital role in the passage of a wide range of significant |
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legislation; in 1953, he authored a proposition, subsequently |
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approved by the voters, amending the Texas Constitution to permit |
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women to sit on juries; he was also instrumental in the adoption of |
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the Hale-Aiken Committee program for the improvement of public |
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education, as well as the passage of the Legislative Reorganization |
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Act of 1961, the Texas Education Code of 1969, and the liquor by the |
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drink law of 1971; and |
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WHEREAS, This highly effective legislator also succeeded in |
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securing a number of large projects that improved the quality of |
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life for his constituents, among them the Wesley Seale Dam, the |
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Harbor Bridge, the Port Aransas Ferry, and the Corpus Christi State |
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School; a tireless champion of higher education in Nueces County, |
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he handled the legislation that transformed the University of |
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Corpus Christi, now Texas A&M University--Corpus Christi, from a |
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small private college to a comprehensive four-year institution in |
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the A&M system; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Hale gave generously of his time and expertise |
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to a host of legal and civic organizations; his contributions |
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earned him myriad accolades from educators, the State Bar of Texas, |
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and other groups, and he was awarded life membership in the League |
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of United Latin American Citizens; in 1979, he donated his |
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voluminous papers to TAMU--CC, where they are archived at the Mary |
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and Jeff Bell Library; and |
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WHEREAS, Devoted to his family, Mr. Hale shared a rewarding |
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marriage of more than six decades with his wife, Carol Hale, before |
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her passing in 2008; he is the father of Janet Hale Wilde and the |
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late Mary Carol Hale, and he takes great pride in his three |
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grandchildren, Brandon DeWitt Wilde, Jennifer Wilde, and Thomas |
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Joseph Wilde; and |
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WHEREAS, DeWitt Hale's legislative accomplishments continue |
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to benefit his fellow Texans in numerous ways today, and it is truly |
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a pleasure to join his loved ones in honoring him as he celebrates |
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100 years of life well lived; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
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Legislature hereby congratulate the Honorable L. DeWitt Hale on the |
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occasion of his 100th birthday and extend to him sincere best wishes |
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for continued happiness; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for Mr. Hale as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
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House of Representatives. |