Former TX Governor Preston Smith Buried in Austin

Laredo, TX, Morning Times ^ | 10-22-03 | AP

[Theodore R.]

Former Gov. Preston Smith buried

Associated Press

AUSTIN (AP) - Preston E. Smith, Texas' 40th governor, was laid to rest at the Texas State Cemetery Tuesday as friends remembered him for his devotion to education and public service.

"Governor Smith was a proud Texan and a man of the people," said U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas. "He exemplified the greatest of the Lone Star State: pride, perseverance and independence."

Smith died Saturday, three days after entering Texas Tech Medical Center with pneumonia. He was 91. A memorial service for him was held Monday in Lubbock.

Gov. Rick Perry talked about Smith's dedication to education and said that because of Smith, Texans flourished.

"Our school system will forever benefit from his vision for progress. Our state will forever be indebted to him for his services and leadership," Perry said.

Earlier in the day, people streamed into the Texas Senate, where Smith's body was laid in state, with two Department of Public Safety officers standing nearby.

In the Capitol rotunda, flowers sat beneath his portrait.

Smith, a Democrat, was elected governor in 1968 and served two terms. He also was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1945, to the Texas Senate in 1956 and as lieutenant governor in 1962.

Smith's wife, Irma, died in 1998.

10/22/03

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[ALASKA]

Thanks for the post, I thought he had been gone for a long time.
(ex-Tex)