H.R. No. 814
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Everett Brown Neptune, Jr., the longtime athletic
director for the Eanes Independent School District and Westlake
High School, passed away on June 22, 2012, at the age of 73; and
WHEREAS, "Ebbie" Neptune was born in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, on
May 14, 1939, to Everett and Virginia Neptune; in 1948, he moved
with his family to Sweeny, where he became a star player and captain
on the Sweeny High School football team; following his 1957
graduation, he attended Texas Lutheran College on a football
scholarship, earning all-America honors as a tight end; and
WHEREAS, Coach Neptune worked as an assistant coach in La
Feria and Pleasanton and then helped Coach Kenneth Dabbs guide
Sweeny High to the 1966 University Interscholastic League 2A state
championship; in 1969, he joined Coach Dabbs in a move to Westlake
High to establish the school's new football program; and
WHEREAS, After serving as offensive line coach and offensive
coordinator there, Coach Neptune held jobs in Bay City and Round
Rock before returning to Westlake in 1982 as head coach and athletic
director of the school; he went on to lead the Chaps to three
playoff appearances and was twice named Central Texas Coach of the
Year by the Austin American-Statesman; and
WHEREAS, In 1987, Coach Neptune became the first full-time
athletic director of both Westlake High and the Eanes Independent
School District; he remained in that post for 22 years, during which
time Westlake High won 19 state championships as well as the 2002
UIL Lone Star Cup; Coach Neptune was inducted into the Texas High
School Athletic Directors Association Hall of Honor in 2004, and
the Eanes ISD School Board immortalized his contributions by naming
the football stadium Ebbie Neptune Field; and
WHEREAS, Among the numerous accolades bestowed on Coach
Neptune was the Texas Lutheran Fighting Heart Award, which was
later renamed in his honor as the Ebbie Neptune Fighting Heart
Award, and he was also recognized by the Greater Austin Chapter of
the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame; and
WHEREAS, He further distinguished himself as a devoted family
man to his wife, the former Mary Sue Pinckney, whom he met while in
college, as well as their two daughters, Rebecca and Elizabeth;
over the years, he delighted in welcoming six grandchildren and
three great-grandchildren into his life, and he took great pleasure
in supporting their involvement in sports; and
WHEREAS, A towering figure in the history of Westlake High
School athletics, Ebbie Neptune was devoted to his students, his
community, and his loved ones, and he will forever be remembered
with great admiration and affection by all who were privileged to
know him; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Everett Brown
Neptune, Jr., and extend sincere condolences to the members of his
family: to his wife of 52 years, Mary Sue Neptune; to his daughters,
Rebecca Gibson and her husband, Scott, and Elizabeth Dodge and her
husband, Todd; to his grandchildren, Amanda Gahan and her husband,
Brian, Allison Schmid and her husband, William, Everett and Grant
Gibson, and Todd and Molly Dodge; to his great-grandchildren, Luke
and Audrey Gahan and Benjamin Schmid; to his sisters, Linda Smith
and Diane Krafka; and to his many 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 Ebbie
Neptune.
Howard
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 814 was unanimously adopted by a
rising vote of the House on March 20, 2013.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House