82R32512 BPG-D
By: Branch H.C.R. No. 2
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The Lone Star State lost a distinguished and pivotal
figure in Texas politics on May 29, 2011, with the death of former
governor William P. Clements, Jr.; and
WHEREAS, The state's second-longest-serving governor and
first Republican governor since Reconstruction, Bill Clements was
initially elected in 1978, having never before run for public
office; he served until 1983 and then made a stunning comeback four
years later to serve another term; and
WHEREAS, During his combined eight-year tenure, he
established a reputation as an efficient, business-like chief
executive, and his gubernatorial appointments generally reflected
a results-oriented approach; he also named the first two women to
the Texas Supreme Court and the first African American to the Texas
Court of Criminal Appeals; moreover, he took a leading role in the
war on drugs and advocated powerfully for anticrime bills passed by
the legislature, and he initiated an extensive renovation of the
State Capitol; and
WHEREAS, Born in Dallas on April 13, 1917, Bill Clements was
an all-state guard on the Highland Park High School football team;
he was offered athletic scholarships but turned them down in order
to help his family during the Great Depression; after working in
South Texas as a roughneck and driller, he attended The University
of Texas at Austin and graduated from Southern Methodist University
in 1939; he returned to the oil fields, and in 1947 he and two
partners borrowed the money to buy two oil rigs and start a company,
SEDCO, which grew to become the world's largest oil drilling
contracting firm; and
WHEREAS, This self-made multimillionaire initially rejected
attempts by Texas Republicans to recruit him for public office
though he worked actively in the party; in 1972, he served as Texas
co-chair of President Richard Nixon's reelection campaign, and he
was appointed deputy secretary of defense the following year and
remained at the Pentagon during the Ford administration; he decided
to run for governor in 1978 and surprised many when he defeated a
better-known opponent; and
WHEREAS, Over the years, Governor Clements was a generous
benefactor of institutions of higher education; he and his wife,
Rita, contributed well over $20 million for facilities, programs,
and professorships at SMU, and he served several terms as a member
and officer of the board of trustees; through his support, the
university's William P. Clements Center for Southwest Studies
developed into an internationally known catalyst for research,
publishing, and public programming in a variety of disciplines
related to the American Southwest and the U.S.-Mexico borderlands;
named trustee emeritus in 1991, he was also recognized with the
Mustang Award, an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree, and the
SMU Distinguished Alumni Award; in 2009, Governor Clements
continued his philanthropy and gave a remarkable $100 million to UT
Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, the largest single gift in
the history of the institution; and
WHEREAS, Plain-spoken, pragmatic, and dedicated to the
prosperity of the Lone Star State, Bill Clements brought a business
perspective to government, and his achievements will continue to
resonate in the lives of his fellow Texans for years to come; now,
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby pay tribute to the memory of the Honorable William P.
Clements, Jr., and extend sincere condolences to the members of his
family: to his wife, Rita Crocker Clements; to his daughter, Nancy
Clements Seay; and to all those who mourn the passing of this
esteemed Texan; 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
former governor Bill Clements.