[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 115 (Tuesday, August 16, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 16, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
               LENA HICKMAN, OLDEST LADY LONGHORN AT 100

                                 ______


                            HON. J.J. PICKLE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, August 16, 1994

  Mr. PICKLE. Mr. Speaker, last week Mrs. Lena Hickman passed away at 
100 years of age. She was preceded in death a few years ago by Judge 
John E. Hickman, who served as a Texas Supreme Court Justice.
  Judge and Mrs. Hickman have made an indelible mark on Austin's 
history. For over 80 years, this lovable couple has influenced the life 
of citizens directly and individually. He was chief justice of the 
Texas Supreme Court, and Lena Hickman graduated from the University of 
Texas where she excelled at sports and later became an outstanding 
teacher.
  Enclosed is an article from the Austin-American Statesman.

               Oldest Lady Longhorn, Hickman, dies at 100

                         (By Rebecca Thatcher)

       Lena Hickman, the widow of Texas Supreme Court Justice John 
     Hickman and a University of Texas basketball and tennis 
     player in the 1910s, died Sunday after a short illness. She 
     was 100.
       Hickman--who had been heralded as the oldest living Lady 
     Longhorn--was a friendly, outgoing woman who stayed active 
     until her last days, said a friend, Nancy Young.
       More than 300 people, including UT Women's Athletics 
     Director Jody Conradt, celebrated her 100th birthday at a 
     party in March at the UT School of Law.
       ``She loved young people. That's why, I think, she stayed 
     so young.'' Young said. ``She gave totally and unselfishly of 
     herself.''
       Hickman was the official greeter at University United 
     Methodist Church for many years, said another friend, Joan 
     Holtzman.
       Holtzman said she met Hickman while looking for a church 
     after moving to Austin in 1949. Holtzman said she thought 
     many members of the church joined because of Hickman's 
     greetings, as she did.
       ``She was just a wonderful person,'' Holtzman said. 
     ``People of all ages just admired and respected and loved 
     her.''
       Young said she remembered how Hickman, who moved to the 
     Westminster Manor retirement center about 15 years ago, had a 
     retirement party for her Oldsmobile at the center.
       The party was on Groundhog Day, and the guests were asked 
     to bring pictures of their former cars or, in some cases, 
     their old horses and buggies, Young said.
       ``She loved to have a good time, and she loved for people 
     to have a good time,'' Young said.
       Hickman was born in Waxahachie in 1894. She grew up in 
     Dallas and attended UT, where she lettered in tennis and 
     basketball.
       After graduating in 1915, she taught school in Dallas until 
     she married John Hickman, then a Breckenridge lawyer, in 
     1923.
       They moved to Austin when he was appointed to the Supreme 
     Court in 1935. He retired in 1961 and died a year later.
       The couple had no children.
       Services will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday at University United 
     Methodist Church, with the Rev. J. Charles Merrill 
     officiating. Hickman will be buried in the State Cemetery.
       Memorial contributions may be made to the Lena and John E. 
     Hickman Scholarship Fund, UT School of Law, Austin, 78712, or 
     University United Methodist Church, 2409 Guadalupe St., 
     Austin, 78705.

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