[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 14]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 18634]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         REMEMBERING TOM OSBURN

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. RALPH M. HALL

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 15, 2004

  Mr. HALL. Mr. Speaker, I am honored today to pay tribute to the 
former mayor of Sherman, TX, Tom Osburn, who died on August 6, 2004.
  Tom Osburn was a selfless and devoted servant to the community of 
Sherman. Community leaders remember him as a man who worked constantly 
for the good of Sherman. If there was a problem, Tom was ready and 
willing to fix it. Friends recall that he was instrumental in getting a 
new building for the Texoma Council of Governments when a mold-
infestation was discovered in the old building. The Old Settler's Park 
in Sherman was getting run down, so Tom led an effort to renovate the 
facility. He also made citizens feel as if they were integral to the 
success of the community. Rev. Jim Pledger stressed that Tom was a good 
mentor who encouraged people, through events like Great Days of 
Service, to give back to Sherman.
  Tom and his wife, Jo Ann, arrived in Sherman in 1990. Tom served as 
TXU's district manager for the Texoma District. The Osburns quickly 
became an integral part of the community. In addition to serving as 
Mayor from 1999-2003, he was a member of the city council from 1998-
2003. Tom also served on the Board of Directors of the Sherman Chamber 
of Commerce, the Boy Scouts of America, the American Cancer Society, 
the United Way, the Texoma Area Paratransit System, the Grayson County 
Rehabilitation Center, the Sherman Minority Recruitment Scholarship 
Foundation, and the Grayson County Juvenile Alternatives. Tom further 
gave his time and energies to the community as chairman of the 
Administrative Board of the First United Methodist Church, chairman of 
the Wilson N. Jones Memorial Hospital Foundation, and president of the 
Sherman Rotary Club. He served as president of the Board of Directors 
of the Texoma Council of Governments, and it isn't surprising that he 
was chosen this year as the Texoma Council of Government's Person of 
the Year for Grayson County.
  Tom was a devoted family man. He met his wife, Jo Ann, at New London 
High School. They both graduated from the University of Texas at Austin 
after Tom played college basketball at Tyler Junior College, where his 
team took second place in the nation. Besides Jo Ann, Tom is survived 
by three children, Chris, Tim, and Beth, five grandchildren, and a 
sister, Pat Sager of Tyler.
  The community of Sherman feels a deep and abiding loss by the death 
of Tom Osburn. Rarely has an individual made such a lasting and 
permanent mark on a town and its citizens. On behalf of his many 
friends and fans, and the community of Sherman, I want to take this 
opportunity in the House of Representatives to pay our last respects to 
this honorable man--Tom Osburn.

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