82R24342 MGR-D
By: Woolley H.R. No. 1655
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Family and friends were deeply saddened by the loss
of business and community leader William Arnold McMinn, Jr., of
Houston, who passed away on April 11, 2011, at the age of 80; and
WHEREAS, Born on July 29, 1930, in Clarksdale, Mississippi,
to William and Mary McMinn, Bill McMinn graduated from high school
in 1948 and earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Vanderbilt
University in 1952; he began his career as a research chemist at
Monsanto Chemical in Texas City that same year and went on to hold
executive positions at a number of firms in the petrochemical
industry, living in Massachusetts, Mississippi, New York, and
Pennsylvania before returning to Texas; and
WHEREAS, Mr. McMinn joined the Sterling Group in Houston in
1986, became president of Cain Chemical the following year, and
subsequently served as chair of the Arcadian Corporation; in 1997,
he assumed the role of chair of Texas Petrochemicals, and he led
that company for six years; he also served on several boards in the
chemical, nanotechnology, and biotechnology industries and was a
senior founding principal of the Legacy Equity Group; and
WHEREAS, A recipient of the Petrochemical Heritage Award in
2004 for his contributions to the field, Mr. McMinn invested in the
biotechnology, nanotechnology, biopharmaceutical, and private
space industries; he spent nearly 40 years in cattle ranching,
owning property in Brenham, Johnson City, McDade, and Gustine, and
he participated in the 1989 Great Montana Centennial Cattle Drive;
and
WHEREAS, Actively engaged in the Texas political process, Mr.
McMinn chaired the board of the Texas Public Policy Foundation and
served on the board of the Texas Institute for Education Reform and
the Associated Republicans of Texas, which he helped to found;
moreover, he was appointed by Governor Rick Perry in 2005 to the
Texas Tax Reform Commission; and
WHEREAS, Mr. McMinn was a member of the Vanderbilt University
Board of Trustees for eight years and a lifetime member of the
school's College Cabinet and Chancellor's Council; he received a
Distinguished Alumni award from Vanderbilt in 1998 and an honorary
doctorate from Abilene Christian University in 2001; in addition,
he was a member of the Brookwood Community Advisory Board for more
than two decades; and
WHEREAS, In all of his endeavors, Mr. McMinn enjoyed the love
and support of his wife, Nancy, whom he met in Nashville while
attending college; the couple shared more than 55 years together
and welcomed four treasured children, William, Mary, Nancy, and
Patricia, as well as five grandchildren, before her passing in
2007; Mr. and Mrs. McMinn also endowed several university honorary
scholarships and chairs; and
WHEREAS, A successful business executive and an engaged
citizen, Bill McMinn drew people to him with his warmth, good humor,
and enthusiasm; with interests ranging from history to astronomy to
physics, he never quit learning and embraced life to the fullest,
making countless friends along the way; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of William Arnold
McMinn, Jr., and extend sincere sympathy to the members of his
family: to his children, William A. McMinn III and his wife, Marie,
Mary M. Ogden, Nancy M. Beasley and her husband, Stephen, and
Patricia C. McMinn; to his grandchildren, Michael McMinn, Christina
Snyder and her husband, Dyric, Tommy Ogden and his wife,
Marguerite, Brad Beasley, and Kate Beasley; to his sisters,
Caroline Murphy and Sister Mary Magdalen; to his four
great-grandchildren; 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 Bill
McMinn.