[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 44 (Thursday, March 29, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E493]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    IN MEMORY OF JUSTICE EARL STOVER

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JIM TURNER

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 29, 2001

  Mr. TURNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in memory of Justice Earl Stover, a 
pillar in the community of Silsbee, Texas, whose passing last month 
shook so many of us who have been touched by his passion for life and 
his compassion for his fellow Texans.
  As a college football player, Earl Stover became known as ``Smokey'' 
Stover--and the name stuck. Smokey's life touched every corner of his 
community in Silsbee.
  If you ask former Silsbee School District Superintendent Herbert 
Muckleroy what he thought of Smokey, he'll tell you about Justice 
Stover's respect for education: ``He believed in education. His boys 
got a good education and he wanted everybody else to get the same. And 
he supported whatever it took to do that.''
  Eddie Doggett, who worked for Smokey almost half a century ago in 
1957, will tell you about Justice Stover's work ethic: ``He believed in 
loyalty. He set goals and accomplished them.''
  And Chief Justice Ronald Walker, who served with Smokey Stover on the 
Ninth Court of Appeals, will tell you tales about Smokey's sharp legal 
mind: ``Many of his opinions are now recorded for the posterity and 
benefit of this state's jurisprudence.''
  Justice Stover served his community as president of the Silsbee 
Chamber of Commerce, president of the Silsbee Kiwanis Club, as a 
trustee of the Silsbee School District, as a strong supporter of the 
Silsbee Doctors Hospital, and as an active member of his church.
  His contributions to the Texas legal community were equally 
memorable. Justice Stover served as the Hardin County Attorney, as 
presiding judge of the 88th Judicial District Court for nine years, and 
a Justice on the Ninth Court of Appeals for seven years.
  Along with his other friends, my life was enriched by knowing Smokey. 
He always brought a smile to your face and he always offered an 
encouraging word. He understood the important role government could 
play in the lives of ordinary people. Justice Stover was firmly 
committed to the proposition that in the courtroom before the bar of 
justice, the powerful and the powerless stood as equals. He knew that 
in the halls of Congress and the Legislature, the workings of the 
democratic process can guarantee every citizen an equal opportunity to 
share in the American dream. Smokey always reminded me to ``watch out 
for his Social Security.'' I knew he didn't just mean for him, but for 
every American who deserves to live their latter years with 
independence and dignity.
  On December 9, 2000, Smokey Stover's battle with cancer took his 
life, leaving a void in our community that cannot be replaced. The 
words of his Silsbee neighbor Mitch Hickman best expressed the 
admiration we all held for Justice Stover.
  ``You could go home and dust off your Bible, read it cover to cover, 
and not find enough good words to say about Smokey Stover.''

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