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SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 14
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In Memory |
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of |
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John Graves |
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WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas honors and |
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commemorates the life of John Graves, who died July 31, 2013, at |
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the age of 92; and |
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WHEREAS, John Graves was a giant of Texas letters whose |
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writing evoked a state both magnificent and unforgiving and |
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balanced history, folklore, environmental observations, and |
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personal narrative in a cohesive whole; and |
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WHEREAS, Born August 6, 1920, in Fort Worth, he grew up |
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exploring the Trinity River bottoms and taking part in hunting |
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trips in South Texas with his father and uncles; after graduating |
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from Rice University, he enlisted in the United States Marine |
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Corps and served in the Pacific theater during World War II, |
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earning a Purple Heart and rising to the rank of captain; and |
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WHEREAS, After the war, he earned a master's degree from |
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Columbia University and became an English professor at The |
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University of Texas at Austin; he soon became disillusioned with |
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teaching and embarked on a period of wandering and reflection, |
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during which he traveled and lived abroad and wrote for magazines |
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and literary quarterlies; and |
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WHEREAS, He returned to Fort Worth in 1957, and he took a |
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position teaching creative writing at Texas Christian |
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University; he fell in love with and married Jane Cole, and the |
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couple raised two daughters, Helen and Sally; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Graves also rediscovered the Texas wildlife |
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and history that had captivated him as a young man; among the |
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pieces he wrote during this time was a short story entitled "The |
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Last Running," which was published in the Atlantic Monthly and |
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was reprinted in a collection of best American short stories; and |
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WHEREAS, When the federal government announced a plan to |
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build a series of dams along the Brazos River, turning it into a |
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series of lakes, he undertook a 175-mile canoe trip down the |
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river as a farewell to a waterway he had fished in and explored as |
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a youth; he wrote an article for Holiday magazine about his trip, |
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describing his journey and relating the history of the area, |
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including the encounters between the Comanche people and the |
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Anglo-Celtic Texans settling the region; and |
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WHEREAS, He expanded the article into a book, Goodbye to a |
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River, an elegy for an earlier, wild, unreconstructed Texas that |
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has been called the finest book ever written about the state; it |
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was nominated for a National Book Award and was the first book in |
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a set that became known as the Brazos Trilogy, which included |
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Hard Scrabble and From a Limestone Ledge; and |
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WHEREAS, John Graves was a man of vision, strength, and |
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courage whose deep love of Texas and singular ability to describe |
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its lost frontier will enrich the lives of countless readers for |
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years to come; and |
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WHEREAS, A devoted husband, father, and grandfather, he |
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leaves behind memories that will be treasured forever by his |
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family and his many friends; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 83rd |
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Legislature, 3rd Called Session, hereby extend sincere |
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condolences to the bereaved family of John Graves; and, be it |
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further |
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RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for |
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his family as an expression of deepest sympathy from the Texas |
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Senate, and that when the Senate adjourns this day, it do so in |
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memory of John Graves. |
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Birdwell, Estes |
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________________________________ |
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President of the Senate |
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I hereby certify that the |
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above Resolution was adopted by |
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the Senate on August 5, 2013, by a |
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rising vote. |
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________________________________ |
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Secretary of the Senate |
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________________________________ |
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Member, Texas Senate |
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________________________________ |
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Member, Texas Senate |