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| 4 | 5 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 6 | | WHEREAS, The Honorable L. DeWitt Hale, a distinguished former |
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| 6 | 7 | | member of the Texas House of Representatives, is celebrating his |
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| 7 | 8 | | 100th birthday on June 10, 2017, and this momentous milestone is |
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| 8 | 9 | | indeed deserving of special recognition; and |
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| 9 | 10 | | WHEREAS, Born in Caddo Mills in 1917, DeWitt Hale grew up in |
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| 10 | 11 | | Farmersville; while still a student at The University of Texas at |
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| 11 | 12 | | Austin, he was elected to represent Collin County in the Texas |
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| 12 | 13 | | House, and at the age of 21, he was the youngest member of the 46th |
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| 13 | 14 | | Legislature; he served one term, from 1939 to 1940, and having |
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| 14 | 15 | | completed his law degree, he joined the Office for Emergency |
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| 15 | 16 | | Management in Washington, D.C., in 1941; during World War II, he |
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| 16 | 17 | | served in the United States Army Air Forces, rising to the rank of |
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| 17 | 18 | | first lieutenant; and |
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| 18 | 19 | | WHEREAS, Following his return to civilian life, Mr. Hale |
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| 19 | 20 | | settled in Corpus Christi to practice law, and in 1952, he was |
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| 20 | 21 | | elected to the Texas House from Nueces County; serving in that |
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| 21 | 22 | | office until 1963 and again from 1965 until 1978, he proved himself |
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| 22 | 23 | | a master parliamentarian and persuasive advocate with an extensive |
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| 23 | 24 | | knowledge of the issues of the day; he held many leadership roles, |
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| 24 | 25 | | among them speaker pro tempore, chair of the House Judiciary |
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| 25 | 26 | | Committee, co-chair of the Constitutional Convention Planning |
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| 26 | 27 | | Committee, delegate to the Texas Constitutional Convention of 1974, |
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| 27 | 28 | | and chair of the Convention Judiciary Committee; he led the House |
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| 28 | 29 | | Select Committee on Impeachment that engineered the state's first |
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| 29 | 30 | | impeachment since 1923, and he chaired the Committee of the Whole |
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| 30 | 31 | | House, which handled the Articles of Address against a justice of |
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| 31 | 32 | | the Texas Supreme Court; in addition, as chair of the House General |
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| 32 | 33 | | Investigating Committee, he led a probe into the East Texas |
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| 33 | 34 | | slant-hole scandal, a history of illicit drilling that involved the |
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| 34 | 35 | | theft of some $100 million worth of oil; and |
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| 35 | 36 | | WHEREAS, During his legislative tenure, Mr. Hale played a |
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| 36 | 37 | | vital role in the passage of a wide range of significant |
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| 37 | 38 | | legislation; in 1953, he authored a proposition, subsequently |
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| 38 | 39 | | approved by the voters, amending the Texas Constitution to permit |
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| 39 | 40 | | women to sit on juries; he was also instrumental in the adoption of |
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| 40 | 41 | | the Hale-Aiken Committee program for the improvement of public |
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| 41 | 42 | | education, as well as the passage of the Legislative Reorganization |
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| 42 | 43 | | Act of 1961, the Texas Education Code of 1969, and the liquor by the |
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| 43 | 44 | | drink law of 1971; and |
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| 44 | 45 | | WHEREAS, This highly effective legislator also succeeded in |
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| 45 | 46 | | securing a number of large projects that improved the quality of |
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| 46 | 47 | | life for his constituents, among them the Wesley Seale Dam, the |
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| 47 | 48 | | Harbor Bridge, the Port Aransas Ferry, and the Corpus Christi State |
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| 48 | 49 | | School; a tireless champion of higher education in Nueces County, |
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| 49 | 50 | | he handled the legislation that transformed the University of |
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| 50 | 51 | | Corpus Christi, now Texas A&M University--Corpus Christi, from a |
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| 51 | 52 | | small private college to a comprehensive four-year institution in |
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| 52 | 53 | | the A&M system; and |
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| 53 | 54 | | WHEREAS, Mr. Hale gave generously of his time and expertise |
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| 54 | 55 | | to a host of legal and civic organizations; his contributions |
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| 55 | 56 | | earned him myriad accolades from educators, the State Bar of Texas, |
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| 56 | 57 | | and other groups, and he was awarded life membership in the League |
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| 57 | 58 | | of United Latin American Citizens; in 1979, he donated his |
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| 58 | 59 | | voluminous papers to TAMU--CC, where they are archived at the Mary |
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| 59 | 60 | | and Jeff Bell Library; and |
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| 60 | 61 | | WHEREAS, Devoted to his family, Mr. Hale shared a rewarding |
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| 61 | 62 | | marriage of more than six decades with his wife, Carol Hale, before |
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| 62 | 63 | | her passing in 2008; he is the father of Janet Hale Wilde and the |
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| 63 | 64 | | late Mary Carol Hale, and he takes great pride in his three |
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| 64 | 65 | | grandchildren, Brandon DeWitt Wilde, Jennifer Wilde, and Thomas |
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| 65 | 66 | | Joseph Wilde; and |
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| 66 | 67 | | WHEREAS, DeWitt Hale's legislative accomplishments continue |
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| 67 | 68 | | to benefit his fellow Texans in numerous ways today, and it is truly |
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| 68 | 69 | | a pleasure to join his loved ones in honoring him as he celebrates |
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| 69 | 70 | | 100 years of life well lived; now, therefore, be it |
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| 70 | 71 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
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| 71 | 72 | | Legislature hereby congratulate the Honorable L. DeWitt Hale on the |
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| 72 | 73 | | occasion of his 100th birthday and extend to him sincere best wishes |
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| 73 | 74 | | for continued happiness; and, be it further |
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| 74 | 75 | | RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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| 75 | 76 | | prepared for Mr. Hale as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
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| 76 | 77 | | House of Representatives. |
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