H.C.R. No. 117
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The State of Texas and the field of oceanography
lost a renowned educator with the passing of Robert Osborne Reid of
College Station on January 23, 2009, at the age of 87; and
WHEREAS, Born in Connecticut on August 24, 1921, Professor
Reid moved with his family to Los Angeles in 1935; during the early
years of the war, he participated in an army training program in
meteorology at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and on
completing the course in 1943, he was commissioned a second
lieutenant in the Army Air Corps; posted to England as a weather
officer, he worked on a team whose mission was to predict weather
and tides for the Normandy Invasion; after the end of the war in
Europe, he served in the Pacific Theater; and
WHEREAS, Following his discharge from the military, Bob Reid
finished his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering at the
University of Southern California and then, in 1946, he joined the
first class admitted to a pioneering graduate oceanography program
at Scripps; subsequently, he and his fellow alumni would play a
significant role in developing other early oceanography programs
around the world, based on the Scripps interdisciplinary approach;
and
WHEREAS, In 1951, Professor Reid was recruited to become a
founding faculty member of the new graduate Department of
Oceanography and Meteorology at Texas A&M University; over the
ensuing years, he served as department chair, conducted important
research in coastal oceanography and engineering, and helped to
establish an ocean engineering program in the Department of Civil
Engineering; in addition, he chaired or co-chaired the advisory
committees of about 70 doctoral students and nearly 40 master's
students; and
WHEREAS, Professor Reid also lent his expertise to a host of
extracurricular committees, organizations, and professional
journals; among the many accolades conferred on this esteemed
scientist and educator were awards for distinguished teaching and
research, an honorary doctorate from Old Dominion University, and a
medal from the University of Liege, Belgium; in 1983, his former
students organized a symposium in his honor, and in 1987, Texas A&M
named him distinguished professor emeritus; Professor Reid was a
Fellow of the American Geophysical Union and American
Meteorological Society and a member of the National Academy of
Engineering and National Academy of Sciences; and
WHEREAS, Bob Reid exchanged wedding vows with the former
Marjorie Ferry in 1947, and the couple became the parents of three
sons and three daughters; and
WHEREAS, A kind and gentle man who considered himself a Texan
by choice, Professor Reid made significant contributions to the
advancement of 20th-century oceanography and brought great honor to
Texas A&M University and to the Lone Star State; now, therefore, be
it
RESOLVED, That the 81st Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby pay tribute to the life of Professor Robert Osborne Reid and
extend sincere sympathy to the members of his family: to his wife
of 62 years, Marjorie Ferry Reid; to his sons and daughter-in-law,
Thomas Reid, Russell Reid, and Robert and Tina Reid; to his
daughters, Nancy Reid and Carol McCormick; to his son-in-law,
William V. Anderson; to his grandchildren, Kimberlee Spurlin,
Wesley, Katherine, and Nicholas Paul Reid, Sarah Naomi McCormick,
and Brandon, Nolan Daniel, and Ellie Lynn Anderson; to his
great-grandchildren, Garrett Heitman, Aaden and Kason Anderson,
and Kaely Brown; 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 and Senate adjourn this day, they do so in memory of
Professor Robert Osborne Reid.
Brown of Brazos
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.C.R. No. 117 was unanimously adopted by a
rising vote of the House on March 26, 2009.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.C.R. No. 117 was unanimously adopted by a
rising vote of the Senate on April 29, 2009.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor