Bill Text: TX SR93 | 2021 | 87th Legislature 3rd Special Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: In memory of William Steele Sessions.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 3)
Status: (Passed) 2021-10-18 - Reported enrolled [SR93 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-SR93-Enrolled.html
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| In Memory | ||
| of | ||
| William Sessions | ||
| WHEREAS, An exemplary life devoted to public service drew | ||
| to a close with the death of former federal judge and FBI director | ||
| William Steele Sessions of San Antonio on June 12, 2020, at the | ||
| age of 90; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Bill Sessions was born on May 27, 1930, in Fort | ||
| Smith, Arkansas, to Will and Edith Steele Sessions; afflicted | ||
| with polio as an adolescent, he overcame the disease to become an | ||
| Eagle Scout and a successful high school athlete; in 1948, he | ||
| entered the University of Kansas, and with the escalation of the | ||
| Korean War, he answered his nation's call to duty by joining the | ||
| U.S. Air Force in 1951; he served as a radar intercept officer | ||
| until 1955, flying more than a thousand hours aboard B-25 | ||
| aircraft and attaining the rank of captain; and | ||
| WHEREAS, While still in the military, Mr. Sessions | ||
| attended night classes at Baylor University, earning a | ||
| bachelor's degree in economics in 1956, and he went on to receive | ||
| his law degree from Baylor in 1958; after starting his own | ||
| practice, he joined the Waco firm of Haley, Fulbright, Winniford, | ||
| Sessions and Bice, and he became president of the local bar | ||
| association and director of the State Junior Bar of Texas; during | ||
| his time in Waco, he also served as a lay leader and Sunday school | ||
| teacher for Trinity Methodist Church; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Active in Republican politics, Mr. Sessions | ||
| supported campaigns by George H. W. Bush and John Tower, and in | ||
| 1969, he was elected to the city council in Waco; he joined the | ||
| federal government in the 1970s and served as chief of the | ||
| Government Operations Section for the Criminal Division of the | ||
| Department of Justice and as U.S. attorney, U.S. district judge, | ||
| and chief judge for the Western District of Texas, presiding over | ||
| the high-profile trials concerning the murder of U.S. district | ||
| judge John H. Wood; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In 1987, Mr. Sessions was nominated by President | ||
| Ronald Reagan as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, | ||
| and he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate with a vote of 90 to 0; | ||
| over the course of his six-year tenure, he served under three | ||
| presidents, helped increase opportunities for women and people | ||
| of color, expanded the bureau's role in combating international | ||
| terrorism, and updated the agency's technology to adopt the use | ||
| of DNA in forensics and to implement a digital fingerprint | ||
| identification system; and | ||
| WHEREAS, After stepping down as director in 1993, | ||
| Mr. Sessions returned to private practice as a mediator and | ||
| arbitrator for the National Patent Board, first in San Antonio | ||
| and then with the firm of Holland & Knight in Washington, D.C., | ||
| and he worked well into his 80s, until retiring in January 2017; | ||
| he also served on several committees of the American Bar | ||
| Association and worked with the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., | ||
| and the Constitution Project; he consulted with the State of | ||
| Texas on security and cyberterrorism issues; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Mr. Sessions was married to the former Alice June | ||
| Lewis for 66 years until her death in 2019, and he was the proud | ||
| father of five children, Lewis, Pete, Mark, Sara, and the late | ||
| Jonathan Avent Sessions; with the passing years, he welcomed into | ||
| his family nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren; he | ||
| enjoyed an active life of camping and canoeing, and in the 1980s, | ||
| he twice trekked to the base of Mount Everest; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Bill Sessions distinguished himself through his | ||
| tireless commitment to serving his fellow citizens, and he leaves | ||
| behind a legacy of integrity, dedication, and resilience that | ||
| will continue to inspire all those who knew and loved him; now, | ||
| therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 87th | ||
| Legislature, 3rd Called Session, hereby pay tribute to the memory | ||
| of William Steele Sessions and extend heartfelt sympathy to his | ||
| relatives and many friends; and, be it further | ||
| RESOLVED, That an official copy of this Resolution be | ||
| prepared for his family and that when the Texas Senate adjourns | ||
| this day, it do so in memory of William Sessions. | ||
| Hughes, Campbell, Hancock | ||
| ________________________________ | ||
| President of the Senate | ||
| I hereby certify that the | ||
| above Resolution was adopted by | ||
| the Senate on October 18, 2021, by | ||
| a rising vote. | ||
| ________________________________ | ||
| Secretary of the Senate | ||
| ________________________________ | ||
| Member, Texas Senate | ||
| ________________________________ | ||
| Member, Texas Senate | ||
| ________________________________ | ||
| Member, Texas Senate | ||
