Bill Text: TX HR518 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: In memory of James Polk Simpson.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2011-03-15 - Reported enrolled [HR518 Detail]
Download: Texas-2011-HR518-Enrolled.html
H.R. No. 518 |
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WHEREAS, James Polk Simpson, a renowned Galveston attorney | ||
who dramatically altered the ambiance of that city in the 1950s, | ||
passed away in Austin on November 27, 2010, at the age of 87; and | ||
WHEREAS, Born in Corpus Christi on September 27, 1923, Jim | ||
Simpson served in World War II as a navigator and bombardier with | ||
the 451st Bombardment Squadron, 322nd Bombardment Group, 9th Air | ||
Force, and flew 59 missions over France, Germany, and Belgium; and | ||
WHEREAS, After leaving the service, he earned a law degree | ||
from The University of Texas in 1950 and then joined the FBI; his | ||
assignments with the bureau took him to Chicago and to Minneapolis, | ||
where he met his future wife, Constance Ann Griffith, who was then | ||
working as an FBI stenographer; the couple married in 1952 and moved | ||
to Galveston, where Mr. Simpson began to practice law; and | ||
WHEREAS, At the time, Galveston and the surrounding county | ||
were home to a number of illegal establishments that operated with | ||
no fear of interference from local officials; in 1954, Mr. Simpson | ||
ran for the office of county district attorney, vowing to rid the | ||
city of these types of businesses; he lost by a mere eight votes in | ||
the primary runoff, but three years later he got another | ||
opportunity when he was named special assistant attorney general; | ||
and | ||
WHEREAS, Using the authority of his new office, Mr. Simpson | ||
hired two refinery workers as undercover agents and set about | ||
filing civil injunctions; because those being targeted had | ||
connections in the county courthouse, Mrs. Simpson prepared the | ||
search warrants and other legal paperwork in secret at the couple's | ||
home; ultimately, nearly 200 injunctions were served against both | ||
individuals and properties; and | ||
WHEREAS, In his work as an attorney, Mr. Simpson demonstrated | ||
an enduring empathy for the underdog, a sympathy born of his | ||
experience growing up poor during the Depression; among the clients | ||
he represented in his legal practice were many individuals who had | ||
suffered work-related injuries in Texas refineries and chemical | ||
plants; and | ||
WHEREAS, Deeply engaged in civic affairs, Jim Simpson served | ||
as a trustee of the College of the Mainland for 23 years and | ||
presided for two terms as president of the board; he was also a key | ||
figure in local Democratic Party politics; this esteemed Texan | ||
recounted his colorful career in a 2007 memoir titled Flak Bait: | ||
Eight Decades Dodging Flak as a Bombardier, FBI Agent, Trial | ||
Lawyer, and Texas Maverick; and | ||
WHEREAS, In the Galveston Daily News article that marked his | ||
passing, Mr. Simpson was remembered "for his courtly manner, | ||
passion for justice, gift for language and public speaking, and | ||
gregarious nature"; he was a Texas original, and he will be missed; | ||
now, therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas | ||
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of James Polk Simpson and | ||
extend sincere sympathy to the members of his family: to his wife, | ||
Connie Simpson; to his daughter and her husband, Simone and Geoff | ||
Leavenworth; to his sons, Scott, James, and Gregory Simpson; to his | ||
grandchildren, Robert and Jennifer Simpson and Mark and James | ||
Leavenworth; to his great-grandchildren, Leslie and Eva Simpson; to | ||
his sister, Pat Simpson Hollenbeck; and to his many other relatives | ||
and friends; 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 James Polk | ||
Simpson. | ||
Eiland | ||
______________________________ | ||
Speaker of the House | ||
I certify that H.R. No. 518 was unanimously adopted by a | ||
rising vote of the House on March 3, 2011. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||