Bill Text: TX HR1452 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: In memory of Clive Runnells Jr. of Houston.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2019-05-09 - Reported enrolled [HR1452 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-HR1452-Enrolled.html
| H.R. No. 1452 | ||
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| WHEREAS, A full and productive life drew to a close with the | ||
| passing of admired civic leader Clive Runnells Jr. of Houston on | ||
| April 26, 2019, at the age of 93; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The son of Clive Runnells Sr. and Mary Withers | ||
| Runnells, Clive Runnells was born in Chicago on January 16, 1926, | ||
| and grew up with a brother, John; he interrupted his education at | ||
| Yale University to train as an aviation cadet in the U.S. Navy, | ||
| graduating after the end of World War II; in 1950, he moved to | ||
| Texas, where he worked for Pure Oil and Wilson Supply Company; like | ||
| his famous great-grandfather, Abel Head "Shanghai" Pierce, he went | ||
| into ranching, becoming chair and CEO of Runnells Peters Cattle | ||
| Company and Runnells Peters Feedyards; he also became a pioneer in | ||
| both the mutual fund and cable television industries; in the | ||
| mid-1970s, he organized Gulf Coast Cable Television; he served on | ||
| the boards of the National Cable Television Association and the | ||
| Investment Company Institute, often advocating before the U.S. | ||
| Congress on their behalf; moreover, he was director of Criterion | ||
| Funds and Criterion Group, and he served on the board of the Federal | ||
| Reserve Bank of Dallas; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Mr. Runnells benefited his fellow citizens through | ||
| his philanthropic endeavors and leadership roles in many realms; he | ||
| served as chair of the Mental Health Mental Retardation Authority | ||
| of Harris County and as president of the Gulf Coast Medical | ||
| Foundation; in addition, he was a life member of the Development | ||
| Board of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston | ||
| and a director of the Mental Health Association; he was a director | ||
| of TIRR Memorial Hermann, a trustee of the Hermann Eye Fund, and a | ||
| member of the honorary advisory council of the Memorial Hermann | ||
| Foundation; he established the Nancy, Clive, and Pierce Runnells | ||
| Distinguished Chair in Neuroscience at The University of Texas | ||
| Health Science Center at Houston, and he generously supported stem | ||
| cell research at UTHealth as well; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Committed to protecting and preserving coastal | ||
| wetland and upland prairie, Mr. Runnells donated to The Nature | ||
| Conservancy in Texas more than 3,000 acres of land now known as the | ||
| Clive Runnells Family Mad Island Marsh Preserve; he promoted | ||
| education as a trustee and longtime benefactor of St. Paul's School | ||
| and as a member of the Associates Program at Rice University; | ||
| working to improve transportation, he served as chair of the Texas | ||
| Turnpike Authority and as a director of the Grand Parkway | ||
| Association and of Texas High-Speed Rail; he was also a member of | ||
| the Houston chamber of commerce's regional mobility committee; his | ||
| love of aviation led him to serve on the advisory board of the | ||
| Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center, and | ||
| he was vice chair of the Smithsonian National Board; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Mr. Runnells shared a fulfilling marriage with his | ||
| wife, Kathryn Smyth Runnells; he was the devoted father of three | ||
| children, Helen, Clive, and Pierce, and stepfather of Amy, Jeff, | ||
| Calvin, Samuel, David, and John; through the years, he welcomed | ||
| into his treasured family 14 grandchildren, Clive, Pierre, Mary, | ||
| Stephen, Grace, Andrew, Katie, Kolin, Dessie, Dudley, Elisa, | ||
| Matthew, Camille, and Marguerite, as well as 3 great-grandchildren, | ||
| Baxter, JD, and Ella; he was preceded in death by his first wife and | ||
| the mother of his children, Winifred Trimble Carter, his second | ||
| wife, Nancy Morgan Runnells, his son Pierce, and his stepsons David | ||
| and John; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Loyal, kind, unfailingly honest, and deeply | ||
| compassionate, Clive Runnells gave freely of his time and expertise | ||
| to better his community, and his contributions will be remembered | ||
| and admired for years to come; now, therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas | ||
| Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Clive Runnells Jr. and | ||
| extend sincere condolences to his loved ones; and, be it further | ||
| RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be | ||
| prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of | ||
| Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Clive | ||
| Runnells Jr. | ||
| Davis of Harris | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Speaker of the House | ||
| I certify that H.R. No. 1452 was unanimously adopted by a | ||
| rising vote of the House on May 2, 2019. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Chief Clerk of the House | ||
