H.R. No. 1772
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The city of Corpus Christi lost an admired citizen
with the passing of oilman and philanthropist C. C. Winn on February
20, 2015, at the age of 86; and
WHEREAS, Charles Coleman Winn was born on June 18, 1928, in
Long Beach, California, to a family of Texans who soon followed the
oil boom back to their home state; while a student at William Adams
High School in Alice, "Charlie" Winn took his first job as an oil
field roughneck; the salary he earned allowed him to attend Texas
A&M University--Kingsville and The University of Texas at Austin
before he was forced to abandon his studies due to lack of funds;
and
WHEREAS, Mr. Winn later became an oil scout and enjoyed his
first professional success while drilling a well in Karnes County;
the discovery proved to be the start of a prosperous career in the
oil industry, and he went on to establish what would become a highly
lucrative international oil firm in Corpus Christi; under his
leadership, Winn Exploration Company, Inc., eventually operated
oil and gas wells across Texas and nine other states, as well as in
Canada and Australia; and
WHEREAS, Excelling at nearly every project he took on,
Mr. Winn pursued interests in banking, real estate,
nanotechnology, and medical research and development; he was named
an All-American Wildcatter in 1993, and in 1996, he accepted the
M. B. Rudman Outstanding Wildcatter Award; he served on the
National Petroleum Council until 1999, and in 2006, he received the
Texas Oil and Gas Association's highest honor, the Distinguished
Service Award; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Winn treated those who worked for him as family,
and he made it a point to share his good fortune with them; he was
known to buy his employees' lunches out of his own pocket almost
every single day, and remembering the difficulties he had faced as a
student of limited means, he helped put several of their children
through college; his extraordinary generosity extended beyond his
company, and each year he purchased Christmas presents for orphans
in Piedras Negras in Mexico; and
WHEREAS, A prominent civic leader, Mr. Winn served on
trustee, development, and advisory boards for a multitude of
businesses and organizations in South Texas, including American
Bank in Corpus Christi, Baptist Children and Family Services, and
CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Hospital in San Antonio; repeatedly honored for
his philanthropy, he was recognized by the International Good
Neighbor Council in 1984 and 1999 for his efforts to promote
friendly relations between the people of the United States and
Mexico; he also received praise for his commitment to conservation
and wildlife research, and he helped fund a program that would
enable area teachers to use the Texas State Aquarium as an
educational resource; and
WHEREAS, This kind and caring gentleman cherished his family
above all else; he shared a deep bond of love with his wife of nearly
65 years, Patsy, and he derived great joy from the time he spent
with their five children, Stephanie, C. A., Tom, Southern, and
Sissy, as well as with their nine grandchildren and their
great-granddaughter; his faith was also a source of great comfort
and inspiration to him throughout his days; and
WHEREAS, Although Charlie Winn's hard work and ingenuity made
him a classic American success story, it is perhaps his honesty and
integrity and the close ties of affection he nurtured with his loved
ones that speak most eloquently to the immeasurable impact of his
life; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of C. C. Winn and
extend sincere sympathy to the members of his family: to his wife,
Patsy Winn; to his children, Stephanie Winn, C. A. Winn and his
wife, Nancy, Tom Winn and his wife, Melissa, and Southern Winn and
his wife, Cathy; to his grandchildren, Megan Winn and her husband,
Chris Mei, and Cathleen, Dillon, Southern, Cody, Amy, Trey, Sissy,
and Nicole Winn; to his great-granddaughter, Vivian Marie Winn; to
his nieces, Caroline Szepessy, and her husband, Andy, and Charlcie
Goodman; to his nephew, Sedge Middleton; and to his other
relatives, employees, and many dear 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 C. C. Winn.
Herrero
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 1772 was unanimously adopted by a
rising vote of the House on May 7, 2015.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House