H.R. No. 2857
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Family and friends are mourning the loss of attorney
and civic leader Robert L. Gillette of Baytown, who died on May 8,
2009, at the age of 92; and
WHEREAS, Robert Gillette was born in Michigan in 1916 to
Horace Bernard Gillette and Helen Lowery Gillette; when he was 10,
his family relocated to Houston, and he went on to graduate from San
Jacinto High School and The University of Texas; and
WHEREAS, While working as a clerk at the Humble Oil Company,
Mr. Gillette earned a law degree from the South Texas College of
Law; around that time, he met and married the former Sue Alexander,
with whom he raised three children and shared a fulfilling marriage
for 67 years; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Gillette answered his nation's call to duty
during World War II, serving as a judge advocate in the U.S. Army
Air Corps, and he and his family later settled in Baytown, where he
joined the law firm that eventually became Reid, Strickland and
Gillette; specializing in real estate law, he became an expert in
processing G.I. home loans for returning veterans, and he and his
partners established Bay Title Company to facilitate this work; and
WHEREAS, For more than six decades, Mr. Gillette was a
leading member of his community; he served as president of the
Baytown Chamber of Commerce, the Lee College Foundation, and the
Baytown Area Water Authority, and he was a member of the Lions Club
and the Rotary Club; moreover, he was a longtime champion of Little
League baseball; and
WHEREAS, In 1987, Mr. Gillette was appointed as a
commissioner of the Port of Houston Authority and, over the course
of a 12-year tenure, he played a vital role in securing federal
funding to deepen and widen the Houston Ship Channel; he also
enjoyed a personal connection to the region's waterways as an avid
boater and as a longtime resident of a house on Burnet Bay; and
WHEREAS, Robert Gillette contributed significantly to
Baytown and Harris County, and memories of his dedication and
generosity will not soon be forgotten by all who were privileged to
share in the richness of his life; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Robert L. Gillette and
extend sincere condolences to the members of his family: to his
children, John Gillette and his wife, Diane, Michael Gillette and
his wife, LeAnn, and Jane Riggs and her husband, Bruce; to his
grandchildren, Leigh Heister and her husband, Kurt, Stephanie Rogas
and her husband, Keith, Robert Riggs, John Riggs, Edward Riggs and
his wife, Michelle, Rob Gillette and his wife, Anna, Kenneth
Gillette, and David Gillette; to his great-grandchildren, Lauren,
Stephen, and Sarah Rogas and Meghan, Katherine, Benjamin, and
Madeline Heister; 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 Robert L.
Gillette.
Smith of Harris
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 2857 was unanimously adopted by a
rising vote of the House on June 1, 2009.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House