81R25067 JH-D
By: Gonzalez Toureilles H.R. No. 2152
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Homer E. Dean, Jr., of Alice, a distinguished
attorney and an admired community leader, passed away on August 18,
2008, at the age of 89; and
WHEREAS, Born in Kaufman to Homer E. Dean, Sr., and Ivor
Connell Dean on September 18, 1918, Homer Dean attended the
two-room schoolhouse where his mother was a teacher; he eventually
set his sights on a legal career and worked five jobs while earning
his bachelor's and law degrees at Baylor University; in November
1941, he married fellow Baylor graduate Barbara Roberts, and the
couple moved to Alice, where Mr. Dean had been offered a job with
the firm of Lloyd and Lloyd; and
WHEREAS, The newlyweds' lives soon changed course following
the attack on Pearl Harbor; Mr. Dean enlisted in the U.S. Army, and
he was assigned to military language institutes in New York City and
Berkeley, California; after the war ended, he and his wife returned
to Alice, though he continued to serve in the Army Reserves until
his retirement as lieutenant colonel; and
WHEREAS, Dedicated to the field of law, Mr. Dean was named the
1969 General Practitioner of the Year by the State Bar Association
in the first year the award was bestowed; he practiced actively for
more than half a century, arguing cases before the Texas Supreme
Court and numerous state and federal appellate courts, and
thoroughly enjoyed his chosen profession; along the way, he served
as board chair of the State Bar of Texas and mentored numerous
attorneys, including a grandson and a niece; and
WHEREAS, This esteemed Texan entered public service in 1947
as Jim Wells County attorney and went on to work as the county's
election chair for the U.S. Senate campaign of Lyndon Baines
Johnson; he subsequently served as district attorney from 1950 to
1952 and cofounded the Security Federal Savings and Loan
Association, which made low-cost home loans to returning
servicemen; a visionary civic leader, he helped found the Alice
Water Authority in 1962 and later negotiated the city's first
contract for water from Lake Corpus Christi; the Homer E. Dean, Jr.,
Alice Water Plant was dedicated on his 80th birthday in 1998 in
recognition of his more than 35 years of service to the water
authority; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Dean further shared his time and talents with
the Alice Industrial Foundation, the Jim Wells County Master
Planning Association, the Kiwanis Club, the Masons, and the South
Texas Children's Home, which he served as a board member; he was a
faithful member of First Baptist Church, where he was a longtime
deacon and Sunday school teacher who was respected for his
extensive knowledge of the Bible; and
WHEREAS, Demonstrating an adventurous spirit, Mr. Dean took
great pleasure in traveling the world with his wife and family;
moreover, he was known for his love of nature and his stewardship of
the land; and
WHEREAS, Homer Dean brought to his many endeavors enthusiasm
and a desire to make a positive difference; although he is deeply
missed, he leaves behind a legacy that will long resonate in the
community and state he was proud to call home; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Homer E. Dean, Jr.,
and extend sincere sympathy to the members of his family: to his
wife of 66 years, Barbara Dean; to his daughters, Barbara Dean
Hendricks and her husband, Bill, Ruth Dean Brillhart and her
husband, Don, and Grace Elizabeth Black and her husband, John; to
his grandchildren, Burton Dean Brillhart and his wife, Amy, Robert
Martin Brillhart and his wife, Kim, Katherine Lee Steele, Jack
Calloway Steele, Elizabeth Shields and her husband, Brad, and
William Connell Black; to his great-grandchildren, Annie Mitschke
Brillhart, Peden Burton Brillhart, and Calloway Thompson Steele; to
his sister, Mettie Dean Corley; to his nieces and nephews, Dean
Corley Myane, Terry McClaugherty Josey, and General John Donald
Wesley Corley; to his cousin, Jana Barr 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 adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Homer Dean.