81R1172 MDM-D
By: Bohac H.R. No. 724
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, A full and generous life drew to a close when Elsie
Townes Pressler of Houston died on February 12, 2008, at the age of
102; and
WHEREAS, A fifth-generation Texan, Elsie Townes was born in
Beaumont on March 11, 1905, and moved to the Bayou City in 1917 with
her family; she attended Randolph Macon Woman's College in
Lynchburg, Virginia, and The University of Texas at Austin, where
she was a member of Pi Beta Phi, the Mortar Board, and the Orange
Jackets; she graduated with the Class of 1927; and
WHEREAS, The following year, she married Herman P. Pressler,
Jr., and the couple shared 66 fulfilling years of marriage,
parenthood, world travel, and volunteerism until Mr. Pressler's
passing in 1995; they received the Distinguished Citizens Award
from Sheltering Arms in 1987; and
WHEREAS, Mrs. Pressler was the granddaughter of John C.
Townes, the dean of the law school at The University of Texas at
Austin, and Judge C. C. Garrett, the first chief justice of the
First Court of Civil Appeals; the UT Law School building was named
for Mr. Townes and the Garrett-Townes Auditorium at South Texas
College of Law was named for both of her grandfathers; her father,
Edgar Townes, was a founder of the Humble Oil and Refining Company
and served as its first general counsel, while her husband, Herman
Pressler, Jr., was vice president and director of Exxon, USA, and
president of the Houston Bar Association; and
WHEREAS, Carrying on her family's legacy of service to their
fellow Texans, Mrs. Pressler was a member of Houston's first
Municipal Arts Committee and the president of the Junior League of
Houston, the Women's Auxiliary of the Houston Bar Association, the
River Oaks Garden Club, and the Harris County Heritage Society; she
served as the Houston group chair of the National Society of the
Colonial Dames of America and as a member of the John McKnitt
Alexander Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and
the Friends of Bayou Bend; she was also a founder and longtime
congregant of River Oaks Baptist Church; and
WHEREAS, Deeply admired for her graciousness and her zest for
life, Elsie Pressler inspired countless people with her many good
deeds, and she will forever hold a treasured place in their hearts;
now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Elsie Townes Pressler
and extend sincere sympathy to the members of her family: to her
sons, Townes G. Pressler and Judge H. Paul Pressler III and his
wife, Nancy; to her grandchildren, Jean Pressler Visy and her
husband, Joe, Anne Pressler Csorba and her husband, Les, Terry
Pressler Smith and her husband, Tom, Molly Pressler Lamme and her
husband, Duncan, Townes G. Pressler, Jr., and his wife, Kathleen,
and H. Paul Pressler IV; to her 16 great-grandchildren; to her
sisters-in-law, Mrs. E. E. Townes, Jr., Mrs. Christopher G. Townes,
and Mrs. Howard R. Barr; 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 Elsie
Townes Pressler.