[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 192 (Thursday, December 17, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E3024]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


           PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE LIFE OF JACK GAINES THAXTON

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                           HON. RALPH M. HALL

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 16, 2009

  Mr. HALL of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the 
life of Jack Gaines Thaxton who passed away August 7, 2009 at the age 
of 90. A lifelong Texan, Mr. Thaxton was born April 23, 1919 in 
Kaufman, Texas to Estelle Gaines Thaxton and John W. Thaxton. He spent 
his childhood and adolescent years in Rockwall, Texas, graduating from 
high school in 1937. Even in his early years, he demonstrated character 
qualities which would be associated with his name throughout his life. 
He dedicated himself to many activities in school including football, 
which he excelled in, baseball, and tennis, also taking pride in his 
perfect attendance record.
  Upon graduating, Mr. Thaxton worked for three years as assistant 
manager for the Boyer Drug Company in Rockwall before volunteering for 
service in the Texas National Guard, later serving with the 112th 
Calvary. During World War II, he campaigned in the Pacific Theater and 
in the liberation of the Southern Philippines and Luzon. After 
contracting malaria and hepatitis, Mr. Thaxton spent several months 
recovering in an Army hospital before being released in 1945. Mr. 
Thaxton received several decorations, including five bronze stars for 
meritorious service-valor.
  After he returned to Texas, Mr. Thaxton enrolled at the University of 
Texas in Austin, Texas, where he earned a Bachelor Degree in Business 
Administration in 1949. Shortly after graduating, he married Marguerite 
Ruth Davis and the couple moved to Corpus Christi where he worked for 
H.E.B Grocery Company for thirty years. Marguerite passed away after 
twenty-two years of marriage, and Mr. Thaxton later remarried to 
Marjorie N. Thaxton.
  Mr. Thaxton decided to combine his passion for sports and education 
when he established a golf scholarship at his alma mater, Rockwall High 
School, the proceeds of which help students further their academic 
goals.
  He was a faithful member of the First United Methodist Church, a 
Mason, and later a member of the Al Amin Shrine Temple. He is survived 
by his son, James Eric Thaxton and his wife Carol Arnold Thaxton, along 
with three grandchildren.
  Madam Speaker, I ask those present today to join me in honoring the 
life of this American veteran and dedicated American citizen, Mr. Jack 
Gaines Thaxton.

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