Bill Text: TX HR351 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: In memory of Harry Joseph Middleton of Austin.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2017-03-02 - Reported enrolled [HR351 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-HR351-Enrolled.html
H.R. No. 351 |
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WHEREAS, Texans are mourning the loss of Harry Joseph | ||
Middleton of Austin, the longtime director of the LBJ Presidential | ||
Library, who died on January 20, 2017, at the age of 95; and | ||
WHEREAS, Born in Centerville, Iowa, on October 24, 1921, | ||
Harry Middleton grew up in Topeka, Kansas; he interrupted his | ||
education at Washburn University during World War II to enlist in | ||
the United States Army and later completed his bachelor's degree in | ||
journalism at Louisiana State University; subsequently, he | ||
reported for the Associated Press in New York and served again as an | ||
officer in the Korean War; and | ||
WHEREAS, Mr. Middleton met President Lyndon Baines Johnson | ||
in the course of writing a report for a presidential commission, and | ||
he joined the administration as a staff assistant in 1967; over the | ||
next two years, he wrote many memorable speeches for the president | ||
and drafted messages to Congress advocating for new legislation; he | ||
continued to work for President Johnson as a special assistant | ||
following his return to Texas and worked on two books with him, The | ||
Choices We Face and The Vantage Point: Perspectives of the | ||
Presidency; and | ||
WHEREAS, At the request of President Johnson, Mr. Middleton | ||
took on leadership of the library before it opened in 1971; although | ||
he had no experience as an archivist, he proved a visionary in the | ||
field, making the library a vibrant center for history and public | ||
affairs scholarship with frequent policy symposiums, notable | ||
speakers, and compelling exhibits; he promoted transparency by | ||
moving to declassify presidential papers and by preserving and | ||
releasing recordings of conversations that shed new light on the | ||
Johnson presidency; for three decades, he set the standard for | ||
excellence, gaining wide recognition as "the Dean of Presidential | ||
Librarians"; and | ||
WHEREAS, From 1993 until 2004, Mr. Middleton also served as | ||
executive director of the LBJ Foundation, and he became a mentor to | ||
generations of aspiring public officials; he was an original | ||
proponent of the dynamic partnership between the library and the | ||
LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas, and | ||
beginning in 2003, he taught a popular honors course at UT, The | ||
Johnson Years; he also wrote a number of books, among them The | ||
Compact History of the Korean War, LBJ: The White House Years, and | ||
Lady Bird Johnson: A Life Well-Lived; the LBJ Foundation | ||
established the Harry Middleton Fellowships in his honor, and his | ||
myriad accolades further included the Presidential Rank of | ||
Meritorious Executive, the Anti-Defamation League's Torch of | ||
Liberty Award, and The University of Texas Presidential Citation; | ||
and | ||
WHEREAS, Mr. Middleton shared a rewarding marriage with his | ||
wife, Miriam, until her passing in 2004; he was the proud father of | ||
Susan Hoyle, Deborah Sansom, James Middleton, and Jennifer O'Dell | ||
and grandfather of Joshua Hoyle, Monica O'Dell Shields, Lindsay | ||
O'Dell, and Reed O'Dell; and | ||
WHEREAS, A man of tremendous wisdom and integrity, Harry | ||
Middleton devoted himself to advancing the highest ideals of public | ||
service, and his remarkable contributions will continue to resonate | ||
in Texas and the nation for years to come; now, therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas | ||
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of Harry Joseph | ||
Middleton and extend deep condolences to all who mourn his passing; | ||
and, be it further | ||
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be | ||
prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of | ||
Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Harry | ||
Middleton. | ||
Wu | ||
Howard | ||
______________________________ | ||
Speaker of the House | ||
I certify that H.R. No. 351 was unanimously adopted by a | ||
rising vote of the House on February 23, 2017. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||