H.R. No. 2660
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Family and friends are mourning the loss of admired
Texas journalist Jane Ely of Houston, who died on May 4, 2009, at
the age of 69; and
WHEREAS, Born in 1940, Jane Ely was a native Texan, the
daughter of Fort Worth banker and cattle broker William Ely; and
WHEREAS, In the mid-1960s, Ms. Ely learned her trade by
working as a police reporter for the Houston Post, and she went on
to become a political writer and assistant city editor for that
paper; in 1988, Ms. Ely moved to the Houston Chronicle, where she
covered national politics before becoming an editorial page
columnist; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Ely was respected by her colleagues as well as by
the people they covered for her willingness to ask direct,
hard-hitting questions, and one of her editors at the Chronicle
described her as "sharp as a tack, hard as nails, and as subtle as a
ball-peen hammer"; and
WHEREAS, Former Texas lieutenant governor Bill Hobby, who had
also been her boss at the Houston Post, called her one of the finest
reporters he'd ever known, and former president George H. W. Bush
said she was "the best political reporter of her generation"; she
retired in 2004; and
WHEREAS, This veteran, old-school journalist will long be
remembered for her droll and self-deprecating wit, her love of a
good time, her keen understanding of politics, and her commitment
to informing and enlightening her readers; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Jane Ely and extend
sincere condolences to her sister, Suzanne Ely, and to her other
relatives and friends; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for her family and that when the Texas House of
Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Jane Ely.
Alvarado
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 2660 was unanimously adopted by a
rising vote of the House on May 31, 2009.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House