|
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
WHEREAS, Jack Sawtelle Blanton, a prominent Houston oil |
|
executive and philanthropist, passed away on December 28, 2013, at |
|
the age of 86; and |
|
WHEREAS, The son of Louise Wynn and William Neal Blanton, |
|
Jack Blanton was born on December 7, 1927, in Shreveport, |
|
Louisiana; when he was two, the family moved to Houston, where he |
|
graduated from Lamar High School; he went on to attend The |
|
University of Texas and received a degree in history in 1947 and a |
|
bachelor of laws degree three years later; while at UT, he competed |
|
in tennis, and the sport proved to be a lifelong passion for him; |
|
and |
|
WHEREAS, Mr. Blanton began working for the Scurlock Oil |
|
Company in 1950 and quickly rose through the ranks to become head of |
|
the company in 1958; he held the office of president and CEO for a |
|
quarter-century and subsequently served Scurlock as chair before |
|
retiring in 1988; and |
|
WHEREAS, Throughout his life, Mr. Blanton was dedicated to |
|
the city of Houston and served on the boards of many businesses and |
|
institutions, including Texas Commerce Bank, Southwestern Bell |
|
Telephone, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Houston Methodist |
|
Hospital, where he was a life trustee; he also chaired the Greater |
|
Houston Partnership, a consortium of community-minded business |
|
leaders, and he devoted time and resources to a number of charitable |
|
groups, including the Scurlock Foundation, which he cofounded in |
|
1954; from 1990 to 2003, he served as chair of the Houston |
|
Endowment, which contributes to a broad spectrum of programs in |
|
such areas as education, health care, and the arts, and over the |
|
course of his tenure, he shepherded the endowment's growth, from |
|
$400 million to more than $1 billion; and |
|
WHEREAS, Mr. Blanton also remained loyal to his alma mater, |
|
and he served on the UT Board of Regents for six years, including a |
|
two-year term as chair; in addition, he served as chair of the LBJ |
|
Foundation and as president of the Ex-Students' Association, and he |
|
was recognized with a Distinguished Alumnus and a Santa Rita Award, |
|
the highest accolade bestowed by the Board of Regents; the |
|
university paid special tribute to this esteemed benefactor with |
|
the naming of the Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art in his honor in 1997; |
|
and |
|
WHEREAS, For five decades, Mr. Blanton enjoyed the love and |
|
support of his wife, Laura Lee Scurlock, and they were blessed with |
|
three children, Elizabeth, Jack, and Eddy; after Mrs. Blanton's |
|
passing, Mr. Blanton was fortunate enough to find love again and he |
|
married Cindy Davis; following her death, he met Ginger Renfroe at |
|
his church, St. Luke's United Methodist, and the couple married in |
|
2002; over the course of more than a decade together, they shared a |
|
profound commitment to their family, their faith, and their |
|
community; and |
|
WHEREAS, Jack Blanton earned great respect and admiration for |
|
his business acumen and civic leadership, as well as for his |
|
generosity in sharing his success with institutions across the Lone |
|
Star State, and he leaves behind a legacy that will resonate long |
|
into the future; now, therefore, be it |
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas |
|
Legislature pay tribute to the memory of Jack Sawtelle Blanton and |
|
extend sincere sympathy to the members of his family: to his wife, |
|
Ginger Renfroe Blanton; to his children, Elizabeth Wareing and her |
|
husband, Peter, Jack S. Blanton Jr. and his wife, Leslie, and Eddy |
|
S. Blanton and his wife, Kelli; to his grandchildren and |
|
great-grandchildren; 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 Jack S. |
|
Blanton. |