[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 105 (Tuesday, July 8, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1113-E1114]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   TRIBUTE TO DIANA POTEAT STALLINGS HOBBY: SCHOLAR, PHILANTHROPIST, 
          PUBLIC SERVANT AND PATRON OF THE ARTS AND HUMANITIES

                                  _____
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 8, 2014

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute and remember the 
late Diana Hobby, wife of former Texas Lt. Governor William P. Hobby, 
Jr. and one of the most accomplished and public spirited women in the 
history of the great State of Texas.
  Diana Hobby died on Friday, July 4, 2014, in Houston, Texas after a 
long struggle with Alzheimer's disease and cancer, with her beloved 
husband and four children at her bedside.
  Diana Poteat Stallings Hobby, was born April 22, 1931, in New York, 
New York to Helen Poteat and Laurence Tucker Stallings and raised in 
North Carolina.
  She was a brilliant student, graduating from the Chatham Hall School 
in 1948 and with honors from Radcliffe College in 1952 where she was 
also admitted to Phi Beta Kappa--the oldest honor society for Liberal 
Arts and Sciences in the United States.
  On September 11, 1954, she married the love of her life, the dashing 
William P. ``Bill'' Hobby, the future Lt. Governor of Texas, who

[[Page E1114]]

was then an ensign in the U.S. Navy, and moved to his duty station in 
Washington, DC.
  The young couple lived in Washington until 1957 during which time 
Diana earned an M.A. in English Literature from Georgetown University 
and worked for the Central Intelligence Agency.
  In 1957, the couple moved to Houston, Texas, when Bill's father, 
former Texas Governor William P. Hobby, Sr., fell into declining 
health, necessitating Bill Jr. to assume managerial control of his 
publication, the ``Houston Post.''
  Diana Hobby supported and helped her husband greatly during this 
time, serving as the book editor of the Houston Post from 1957 to 1971.
  While in Houston, Diana Hobby earned her Ph.D. in English Literature 
from Rice University and served as Associate Editor of Studies in 
English Literature from 1979 until her retirement in 1991.
  Diana Hobby, a noted scholar of the great Irish poet, William Butler 
Yeats, had a great passion for the English language and literature. She 
was a lifelong supporter of libraries and the humanities in Texas.
  Diana Hobby also served on the board of directors for many 
organizations such as St. John's School, Memorial Park Conservancy, 
Friends of Hermann Park, Harry Ransom Center, Texas Institute of 
Letters, Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute in Alpine, and the Wolf 
Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts in Virginia.
  Diana Hobby was also passionate about natural beauty and environment 
conservation. She was a founding member for the Lady Bird Johnson 
Wildflower Center and served on the selection committee for the Johnson 
Highway Beautification Awards.
  Diana Hobby is survived by her husband of 60 years, William P. Hobby, 
Jr.; their four children Laura, Paul, Andrew and Kate; and many 
grandchildren.
  Together with her husband, Lt. Governor William P. Hobby, Jr., Diana 
has truly left a legacy of excellence in education, in the arts, and in 
literature that continue to yield benefits to the Houston community and 
the State of Texas.
  I ask that the House observe a moment of silence in memory of my 
friend, Diana Poteat Stallings Hobby, one of the great ladies in the 
history of Texas.

                          ____________________