[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 138 (Monday, September 30, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1843]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING F. LEE LAWRENCE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. RALPH M. HALL

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Saturday, September 28, 1996

  Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an old 
friend and outstanding East Texan, F. Lee Lawrence of Tyler, TX, who 
died recently at the age of 70. He, his brother Bill, and I were old 
friends from Southern Methodist University School of Law. Following his 
graduation from law school in 1950, he began his practice of law in 
Tyler. Lee was a great lawyer and a senior partner of one of the finest 
law firms in Texas. Yet he also found time to share his abilities with 
a number of worthy causes in his community and state.
  History was his special passion, and on June 13 of this year he was 
presented the Governor's Award for Historic Preservation. Governor Bush 
had appointed Lee to the Texas Historical Commission in April, 1995, 
where he was already serving as a member. Previously, he had served on 
the Commission's board for 4 years, beginning in 1959, when he 
collaborated with John Ben Shepperd and Dr. Rupert N. Richardson in 
originating and developing the present State Historical Marker Program. 
With Dr. Robert Glover he wrote the first State marker, which was 
erected at the site of Camp Ford near Tyler. Today, there are 11,000 
historical markers in Texas.
  Lee helped organize historical societies in San Augustine, Shelby, 
Gregg, and Rusk Counties. He served as President of the Texas State 
Historical Association, was a member of the Executive Council 
throughout the 70's and served as president of the Texas Historical 
Foundation. He was founding member and president of the Smith County 
Historical Society and founding member and first president of the East 
Texas Historical Association at Stephen F. Austin State University in 
Nacogdoches, where he served on the Board continuously since its 
inception in 1962. He also served on the Texas Civil War Centennial 
Commission from 1960 to 1965.

  Lee served on the advisory council for the Center for Historical 
Resources at Texas A&M University and was a member of the Company of 
Military Historians, the Manuscript Society, and West Texas Historical 
Association. He copublished ``Tyler and Smith County, Texas: An 
Historical Survey'' and coauthored ``Camp Ford, CSA: The Story of Union 
Prisoners in Texas, 1964.'' He authored and published `'Texas War 
Horses'' in 1995.
  Lee received numerous awards for his dedication to historical 
preservation. The State of Texas presented him the award for 
Meritorious Service in 1963. He received the Mary Moody Northern Award 
for 35 years of service from the Texas Historical Foundation in 1994, 
the Ruth Lester Award for lifetime achievement from the Texas 
Historical Commission in 1995, the Preservation Award from Historic 
Tyler in 1995, and the Ralph Steen Award for distinguished service to 
the East Texas Historical Association and East Texas history.
  Lee also had served on the Board of Trustees at Texas Christian 
University since 1972 and on the Executive, Faculty Relations and 
Fiscal Affairs and Development Committees. In Tyler, he was actively 
involved in community organizations. He was president of the Texas Rose 
Festival Association, YMCA of Tyler, vice-president of Tyler Chamber of 
Commerce, chairman of Carnegie Public Library, and advisor for Texas 
Junior Quarter Horse Association. He served on numerous boards in Tyler 
and was serving on the board of Lifeline Underwriters Life Insurance 
Company at the time of his death.
  Lee was a member and elder of Fifth Street Presbyterian Church, 
member of St. John's Lodge; Chapter No. 24, R.A.M.; Geo. M. Patrick 
Council No. 13; Ascension Commandery No. 25; a 32 degree Scottish Rite 
and Sharon Temple.
  Born in Paris, TX on May 21, 1926 to Elizabeth O. Lawrence and the 
late W. Dewey Lawrence, Lee had lived in Tyler since 1931. He served 2 
years in the U.S. Navy during World War II and attended Texas Christian 
University before graduating from SMU School of Law.
  Survivors include his wife, Virginia Ann Lawrence; daughters Frances 
Ann Lawrence and Amy Jane Lawrence Walton and son-in-law Randall H. 
Walton, all of Albuquerque, NM; daughter Mary Elizabeth Lawrence Cannan 
of Tyler; his mother Elizabeth; brother and sister-in-law, William D. 
and Dorothy Lawrence; two grandchildren and other relatives.
  Mr. Speaker, Lee Lawrence was one of those individuals whose 
influence was felt in all that he did, and he will be truly missed by 
all those who knew him. It was a privilege to be his friend--and I ask 
my colleagues to join me today in paying our last respects to this 
outstanding American.

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