85R21975 BPG-D
By: Hunter H.R. No. 1597
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The Honorable L. DeWitt Hale, a distinguished former
member of the Texas House of Representatives, is celebrating his
100th birthday on June 10, 2017, and this momentous milestone is
indeed deserving of special recognition; and
WHEREAS, Born in Caddo Mills in 1917, DeWitt Hale grew up in
Farmersville; while still a student at The University of Texas at
Austin, he was elected to represent Collin County in the Texas
House, and at the age of 21, he was the youngest member of the 46th
Legislature; he served one term, from 1939 to 1940, and having
completed his law degree, he joined the Office for Emergency
Management in Washington, D.C., in 1941; during World War II, he
served in the United States Army Air Forces, rising to the rank of
first lieutenant; and
WHEREAS, Following his return to civilian life, Mr. Hale
settled in Corpus Christi to practice law, and in 1952, he was
elected to the Texas House from Nueces County; serving in that
office until 1963 and again from 1965 until 1978, he proved himself
a master parliamentarian and persuasive advocate with an extensive
knowledge of the issues of the day; he held many leadership roles,
among them speaker pro tempore, chair of the House Judiciary
Committee, co-chair of the Constitutional Convention Planning
Committee, delegate to the Texas Constitutional Convention of 1974,
and chair of the Convention Judiciary Committee; he led the House
Select Committee on Impeachment that engineered the state's first
impeachment since 1923, and he chaired the Committee of the Whole
House, which handled the Articles of Address against a justice of
the Texas Supreme Court; in addition, as chair of the House General
Investigating Committee, he led a probe into the East Texas
slant-hole scandal, a history of illicit drilling that involved the
theft of some $100 million worth of oil; and
WHEREAS, During his legislative tenure, Mr. Hale played a
vital role in the passage of a wide range of significant
legislation; in 1953, he authored a proposition, subsequently
approved by the voters, amending the Texas Constitution to permit
women to sit on juries; he was also instrumental in the adoption of
the Hale-Aiken Committee program for the improvement of public
education, as well as the passage of the Legislative Reorganization
Act of 1961, the Texas Education Code of 1969, and the liquor by the
drink law of 1971; and
WHEREAS, This highly effective legislator also succeeded in
securing a number of large projects that improved the quality of
life for his constituents, among them the Wesley Seale Dam, the
Harbor Bridge, the Port Aransas Ferry, and the Corpus Christi State
School; a tireless champion of higher education in Nueces County,
he handled the legislation that transformed the University of
Corpus Christi, now Texas A&M University--Corpus Christi, from a
small private college to a comprehensive four-year institution in
the A&M system; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Hale gave generously of his time and expertise
to a host of legal and civic organizations; his contributions
earned him myriad accolades from educators, the State Bar of Texas,
and other groups, and he was awarded life membership in the League
of United Latin American Citizens; in 1979, he donated his
voluminous papers to TAMU--CC, where they are archived at the Mary
and Jeff Bell Library; and
WHEREAS, Devoted to his family, Mr. Hale shared a rewarding
marriage of more than six decades with his wife, Carol Hale, before
her passing in 2008; he is the father of Janet Hale Wilde and the
late Mary Carol Hale, and he takes great pride in his three
grandchildren, Brandon DeWitt Wilde, Jennifer Wilde, and Thomas
Joseph Wilde; and
WHEREAS, DeWitt Hale's legislative accomplishments continue
to benefit his fellow Texans in numerous ways today, and it is truly
a pleasure to join his loved ones in honoring him as he celebrates
100 years of life well lived; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas
Legislature hereby congratulate the Honorable L. DeWitt Hale on the
occasion of his 100th birthday and extend to him sincere best wishes
for continued happiness; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for Mr. Hale as an expression of high regard by the Texas
House of Representatives.