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