[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 132 (Monday, September 30, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1405-E1406]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              ON THE PASSING OF MR. KENNETH EDWARD BENTSEN

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. AL GREEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 30, 2013

  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I would like to honor the legacy 
of the father of a dear friend. Our colleague, the former Member of 
Congress who represented large parts of the district I have the honor 
of representing today, Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr. lost his beloved father 
this past week. Ken's father was also the brother of the late former 
Senator, and Treasury Secretary, Lloyd Bentsen, Jr.
  Kenneth Edward Bentsen died Tuesday morning, September 24, 2013 in 
Houston, Texas. Mr. Bentsen was a prominent architect in Houston 
spanning over four decades. He was married to the former Mary Dorsey 
Bates for 60 years, who survives him.
  He attended the School of Architecture at the University of Texas, 
where he was a member of the Sigma Nu Fraternity. In his sophomore 
year, he enlisted in the Naval Air Corps.

[[Page E1406]]

Following the completion of his military service, he entered the new 
College of Architecture at the University of Houston. He graduated in 
1952 with bachelor degrees in Science and Architecture. He had the good 
fortune to be a student of both Donald Barthelme and Howard Bamstone. 
The University of Houston hosts the Kenneth E. Bentsen Architectural 
Papers in the UH Library's Special Collections.
  His first practical experience was with the firm Mackie and Kamrath. 
In 1958, he opened Kenneth Bentsen Associates Architects where he 
practiced until 1991. He chose to sell the firm following the 
completion of one of his most interesting projects, the 1,038,000 
square foot Texas Children's Hospital Complex in the Texas Medical 
Center. It was the largest children's hospital in the United States at 
that time.
  One of his favorite commissions was the City of Houston Summit Sports 
Arena, the original home of the Houston Rockets, which is now Lakewood 
Church. Another favorite was the Southwest Tower of the Bank of the 
Southwest. Perhaps the most rewarding of all of his projects was the 
opportunity to design 18 structures at Pan American University in 
Edinburg, Texas, now the University of Texas--Pan Am.
  He also designed the State Bar Center in Austin; the Graduate School 
of Business at the University of Texas, Austin; the William Levin 
Learning Center and the Allied Health and Nursing School at University 
of Texas, Galveston; Agnes Arnold Hall and Phillip Guthrie Hoffman Hall 
at the University of Houston. For the Agnes Arnold Hall, he received 
the Award of Merit for Achievement of Excellence from the U.S. Office 
of Education, the American Institute of Architects and the 
Distinguished Alumnus Award for Architectural Excellence from the 
University of Houston.
  The firm's design excellence was recognized with more than 100 
architectural design awards. In 1971, Kenneth was inducted into the 
American Institute of Architecture College of Fellows (F.A.I.A.) in the 
Excellence of Design category. He was the first graduate of the 
University of Houston to be honored in this category.
  He served on the National American Institute of Architects Committee 
on Design, The Houston and Texas Chapters of the American Institute of 
Architects, the Texas Commission on the Arts, as well as the boards of 
the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Sarah Campbell Blaffer Gallery at 
the University of Houston and Texas Children's Hospital.
  Kenneth was born in Mission, Texas on the 21st of November 1926 to 
Edna Colbath Bentsen and Lloyd M. Bentsen, Sr., who preceded him in 
death. In addition to his wife, he is survived by children: Molly Bates 
Bentsen, Betty Bentsen Newton and husband Stephen, Kenneth E. Bentsen, 
Jr. and wife Tamra, William Lloyd Bentsen; grandchildren: Emmie Bentsen 
Zimmerman and husband Zachary, Elizabeth Newton, Louise Bentsen, 
Camille Newton and Meredith Bentsen; and great grandchildren: Chloe 
Zimmerman and Bentsen Zimmerman. He is also survived by his sister, 
Betty Bentsen Winn of McAllen; and sister-in-law, B.A. Bentsen of 
Houston; and many beloved cousins, nieces, and nephews. He was preceded 
in death by his brothers Lloyd M. Bentsen, Jr. and Donald L. Bentsen.

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