Texas 2021 - 87th 3rd C.S.

Texas Senate Bill SR93 Compare Versions

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1	1	SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 93
2	2	In Memory
3	3	of
4	4	William Sessions
5	5	WHEREAS, An exemplary life devoted to public service drew
6	6	to a close with the death of former federal judge and FBI director
7	7	William Steele Sessions of San Antonio on June 12, 2020, at the
8	8	age of 90; and
9	9	WHEREAS, Bill Sessions was born on May 27, 1930, in Fort
10	10	Smith, Arkansas, to Will and Edith Steele Sessions; afflicted
11	11	with polio as an adolescent, he overcame the disease to become an
12	12	Eagle Scout and a successful high school athlete; in 1948, he
13	13	entered the University of Kansas, and with the escalation of the
14	14	Korean War, he answered his nation's call to duty by joining the
15	15	U.S. Air Force in 1951; he served as a radar intercept officer
16	16	until 1955, flying more than a thousand hours aboard B-25
17	17	aircraft and attaining the rank of captain; and
18	18	WHEREAS, While still in the military, Mr. Sessions
19	19	attended night classes at Baylor University, earning a
20	20	bachelor's degree in economics in 1956, and he went on to receive
21	21	his law degree from Baylor in 1958; after starting his own
22	22	practice, he joined the Waco firm of Haley, Fulbright, Winniford,
23	23	Sessions and Bice, and he became president of the local bar
24	24	association and director of the State Junior Bar of Texas; during
25	25	his time in Waco, he also served as a lay leader and Sunday school
26	26	teacher for Trinity Methodist Church; and
27	27	WHEREAS, Active in Republican politics, Mr. Sessions
28	28	supported campaigns by George H. W. Bush and John Tower, and in
29	29	1969, he was elected to the city council in Waco; he joined the
30	30	federal government in the 1970s and served as chief of the
31	31	Government Operations Section for the Criminal Division of the
32	32	Department of Justice and as U.S. attorney, U.S. district judge,
33	33	and chief judge for the Western District of Texas, presiding over
34	34	the high-profile trials concerning the murder of U.S. district
35	35	judge John H. Wood; and
36	36	WHEREAS, In 1987, Mr. Sessions was nominated by President
37	37	Ronald Reagan as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation,
38	38	and he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate with a vote of 90 to 0;
39	39	over the course of his six-year tenure, he served under three
40	40	presidents, helped increase opportunities for women and people
41	41	of color, expanded the bureau's role in combating international
42	42	terrorism, and updated the agency's technology to adopt the use
43	43	of DNA in forensics and to implement a digital fingerprint
44	44	identification system; and
45	45	WHEREAS, After stepping down as director in 1993,
46	46	Mr. Sessions returned to private practice as a mediator and
47	47	arbitrator for the National Patent Board, first in San Antonio
48	48	and then with the firm of Holland & Knight in Washington, D.C.,
49	49	and he worked well into his 80s, until retiring in January 2017;
50	50	he also served on several committees of the American Bar
51	51	Association and worked with the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C.,
52	52	and the Constitution Project; he consulted with the State of
53	53	Texas on security and cyberterrorism issues; and
54	54	WHEREAS, Mr. Sessions was married to the former Alice June
55	55	Lewis for 66 years until her death in 2019, and he was the proud
56	56	father of five children, Lewis, Pete, Mark, Sara, and the late
57	57	Jonathan Avent Sessions; with the passing years, he welcomed into
58	58	his family nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren; he
59	59	enjoyed an active life of camping and canoeing, and in the 1980s,
60	60	he twice trekked to the base of Mount Everest; and
61	61	WHEREAS, Bill Sessions distinguished himself through his
62	62	tireless commitment to serving his fellow citizens, and he leaves
63	63	behind a legacy of integrity, dedication, and resilience that
64	64	will continue to inspire all those who knew and loved him; now,
65	65	therefore, be it
66	66	RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 87th
67	67	Legislature, 3rd Called Session, hereby pay tribute to the memory
68	68	of William Steele Sessions and extend heartfelt sympathy to his
69	69	relatives and many friends; and, be it further
70	70	RESOLVED, That an official copy of this Resolution be
71	71	prepared for his family and that when the Texas Senate adjourns
72	72	this day, it do so in memory of William Sessions.
73	73	Hughes, Campbell, Hancock
74	74	________________________________
75	75	President of the Senate
76	76	I hereby certify that the
77	77	above Resolution was adopted by
78	78	the Senate on October 18, 2021, by
79	79	a rising vote.
80	80	________________________________
81	81	Secretary of the Senate
82	82	________________________________
83	83	Member, Texas Senate
84	84	________________________________
85	85	Member, Texas Senate
86	86	________________________________
87	87	Member, Texas Senate