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| 3 | 4 | | |
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| 4 | 5 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 6 | | WHEREAS, Residents of East Texas lost an admired jurist with |
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| 6 | 7 | | the death of the Honorable Bascom William Bentley III on December |
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| 7 | 8 | | 11, 2017, at the age of 66; and |
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| 8 | 9 | | WHEREAS, The son of Dr. Bascom Bentley Jr. and Kelly Bentley, |
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| 9 | 10 | | Bascom Bentley was born on March 27, 1951; he grew up with a sister, |
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| 10 | 11 | | Belle, and a brother, Newell; after attending Palestine High |
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| 11 | 12 | | School, he completed his bachelor's degree at The University of |
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| 12 | 13 | | Texas at Austin and went on to graduate from the University of |
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| 13 | 14 | | Houston Law Center in 1976; he married the former Carol Swift, and |
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| 14 | 15 | | they were blessed with four children, Bonnie, Bascom, Hunter, and |
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| 15 | 16 | | Matthew; later in life, he experienced the joy of welcoming into his |
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| 16 | 17 | | family a granddaughter, Scarlett; and |
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| 17 | 18 | | WHEREAS, Judge Bentley was appointed Palestine city attorney |
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| 18 | 19 | | in 1977, and he went on to serve Anderson County as county attorney |
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| 19 | 20 | | and court at law judge; in 1989, he was appointed as the first judge |
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| 20 | 21 | | of the newly created 369th District Court, and he fulfilled the |
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| 21 | 22 | | duties of that position with distinction until his retirement in |
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| 22 | 23 | | 2017; serious but unpretentious, he knew when to introduce levity |
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| 23 | 24 | | to the proceedings, and he was a mentor to many; he taught at |
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| 24 | 25 | | Trinity Valley Community College for 37 years and served on the |
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| 25 | 26 | | faculty of the Texas Center for the Judiciary; in addition, he was a |
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| 26 | 27 | | member of the Texas College for New Judges and president of the |
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| 27 | 28 | | Anderson County Bar Association; and |
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| 28 | 29 | | WHEREAS, Deeply committed to his community, Judge Bentley |
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| 29 | 30 | | benefited many charitable organizations and served as president of |
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| 30 | 31 | | the United Way of East/Central Texas, Salvation Army, and Red |
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| 31 | 32 | | Cross; he was a lifelong member of the First Christian Church of |
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| 32 | 33 | | Palestine, where he was chair of the board and taught the Judge EV |
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| 33 | 34 | | Swift Men's Bible Study; among numerous honors, he received the |
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| 34 | 35 | | Citizen of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Awards from the |
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| 35 | 36 | | Palestine Area Chamber of Commerce and the Outstanding Local Leader |
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| 36 | 37 | | Award from the John Ben Shepperd Public Leadership Institute and |
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| 37 | 38 | | The University of Texas; and |
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| 38 | 39 | | WHEREAS, Bascom Bentley earned the respect and admiration of |
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| 39 | 40 | | innumerable people over the course of his long career in public |
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| 40 | 41 | | service, and those who were privileged to know him will forever |
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| 41 | 42 | | cherish their memories of his warmth, kindness, and wonderful sense |
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| 42 | 43 | | of humor; now, therefore, be it |
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| 43 | 44 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas |
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| 44 | 45 | | Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Bascom William |
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| 45 | 46 | | Bentley III and extend sincere sympathy to all who mourn his |
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| 46 | 47 | | passing; and, be it further |
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| 47 | 48 | | RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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| 48 | 49 | | prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of |
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| 49 | 50 | | Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Judge |
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| 50 | 51 | | Bascom William Bentley III. |
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