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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, The Texas legal community lost one of its giants |
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| 6 | 7 | | with the passing of Starling Thomas Morris of Amarillo on October 4, |
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| 7 | 8 | | 2021, at the age of 101; and |
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| 8 | 9 | | WHEREAS, Born in Penelope on November 12, 1919, Tom Morris |
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| 9 | 10 | | was the second son of James L. Morris and Alice B. Morris; he grew up |
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| 10 | 11 | | in Maypearl and attended North Texas Agricultural College and The |
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| 11 | 12 | | University of Texas Law School before World War II interrupted his |
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| 12 | 13 | | education; called up by the U.S. Navy Air Corps, he served with Air |
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| 13 | 14 | | Group 80 and flew the SB2C Helldiver and F6F Hellcat fighter from |
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| 14 | 15 | | the USS Ticonderoga and the USS Hancock; he also piloted an F4U-4 |
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| 15 | 16 | | Corsair fighter-bomber in preparation for the attack on Japan; |
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| 16 | 17 | | along the way, he survived a midair collision that led to six months |
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| 17 | 18 | | in a hospital; he attained the rank of lieutenant senior grade |
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| 18 | 19 | | before his discharge; and |
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| 19 | 20 | | WHEREAS, Mr. Morris returned to UT Law, where he was an |
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| 20 | 21 | | editor of the Texas Law Review and a member of Chancellors and Order |
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| 21 | 22 | | of the Coif; upon graduation in 1946, he was elected to the faculty, |
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| 22 | 23 | | and he taught the school's first course on legal argument and |
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| 23 | 24 | | writing; in addition, he taught the torts class in a separate law |
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| 24 | 25 | | school that the university established for Black scholars; he began |
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| 25 | 26 | | practicing in Harlingen in 1948, and the following year, he moved to |
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| 26 | 27 | | Amarillo, where he joined the firm of Gibson, Ochsner, and Adkins, |
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| 27 | 28 | | as it was eventually known; upon its dissolution in 2003, he became |
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| 28 | 29 | | a shareholder in the Underwood Law Firm, and he continued to |
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| 29 | 30 | | practice there for the rest of his life; he was a generous mentor to |
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| 30 | 31 | | younger attorneys over the years; and |
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| 31 | 32 | | WHEREAS, Among numerous accomplishments, Mr. Morris won a |
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| 32 | 33 | | landmark Supreme Court case, Graham v. Deere, which established the |
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| 33 | 34 | | law of non-obvious subject matter in patent cases; the decision has |
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| 34 | 35 | | been cited in more than 30,000 cases and legal articles and was |
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| 35 | 36 | | reaffirmed by the highest court three times in recent years; he |
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| 36 | 37 | | successfully argued a long list of cases before the Texas Supreme |
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| 37 | 38 | | Court, the Texas Courts of Appeals, and the United States Court of |
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| 38 | 39 | | Appeals for the Fifth Circuit; admired for his ethics and |
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| 39 | 40 | | collegiality, as well as for his brilliance, he was named a Fellow |
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| 40 | 41 | | of the Texas Bar Foundation and the American College of Trial |
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| 41 | 42 | | Lawyers; his myriad accolades included the Texas Legal Legend Award |
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| 42 | 43 | | from the Litigation Section of the State Bar of Texas, the Chief |
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| 43 | 44 | | Justice Charles L. Reynolds Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Tom |
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| 44 | 45 | | Arnold Lifetime Achievement Award from the Intellectual Property |
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| 45 | 46 | | Section of the State Bar; and |
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| 46 | 47 | | WHEREAS, While the law was a source of endless fascination to |
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| 47 | 48 | | Mr. Morris, he was devoted above all to his treasured family; he |
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| 48 | 49 | | shared a fulfilling marriage of 68 years with his wife, Estella |
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| 49 | 50 | | Garnett Morris, until her passing in 2011, and he took great pride |
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| 50 | 51 | | in their two daughters, Linda and Vicki, and three granddaughters, |
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| 51 | 52 | | Skye, Autumn, and Aureóle; in his free time, he was an avid golfer, |
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| 52 | 53 | | and he achieved a single-digit handicap and scored five holes in |
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| 53 | 54 | | one; he served as president of the Texas Tri-State Senior Golf |
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| 54 | 55 | | Association and played in its tournament for many years, and he was |
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| 55 | 56 | | twice the recipient of the Colonel Bogey Award; the Amarillo |
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| 56 | 57 | | Country Club recognized him for six decades of work to improve its |
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| 57 | 58 | | golf course, and a plaque was placed at the Starter's Shack honoring |
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| 58 | 59 | | his contributions; and |
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| 59 | 60 | | WHEREAS, Although Tom Morris is deeply missed, he leaves |
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| 60 | 61 | | behind a remarkable professional legacy, as well as numerous |
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| 61 | 62 | | friends and loved ones whose lives are far richer for having known |
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| 62 | 63 | | him; now, therefore, be it |
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| 63 | 64 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas |
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| 64 | 65 | | Legislature, 3rd Called Session, hereby pay tribute to the memory |
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| 65 | 66 | | of Starling Thomas Morris and extend sincere condolences to the |
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| 66 | 67 | | members of his family: to his daughters, Linda Lee Willard and Vicki |
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| 67 | 68 | | Rey Fineran; to his granddaughters, Skye, Autumn, and Aureóle |
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| 68 | 69 | | Fineran; to his sister, Alice Beth Willis; and to his other |
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| 69 | 70 | | relatives and friends; and, be it further |
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| 70 | 71 | | RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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| 71 | 72 | | prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of |
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| 72 | 73 | | Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Starling |
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| 73 | 74 | | Thomas Morris. |
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