Chamber	District	Dates of Service	Legislatures	Party	City/County	Counties in District
H	25	Jan 11, 1977 - Jan 5, 1978	65th ⁽¹⁾ ⁽²⁾ ⁽³⁾ ⁽⁴⁾	Democrat	Denton / Denton	Denton
H	25	Jan 14, 1975 - Jan 11, 1977	64th ⁽⁵⁾	Democrat	Denton / Denton	Denton
H	25	Jan 9, 1973 - Jan 14, 1975	63rd	Democrat	Denton / Denton	Denton
H	50	Jan 12, 1971 - Jan 9, 1973	62nd	Democrat	Denton / Denton	Cooke, Denton
H	50	Jan 14, 1969 - Jan 12, 1971	61st	Democrat	Denton / Denton	Cooke, Denton

(1) Walt Parker resignation letters dated 1/4/1978, effective 1/5/1978. Texas House of Representatives, Chief Clerk's Office.
(2) Proclamations, 1/5/1978 and 3/1/1978, ordering a special election in House District 25 on 2/18/1978, and second special election on 3/21/1978, to serve out the unexpired term of the Honorable Walter E. Parker. Governor Dolph Briscoe. January 5, 1978 March 1, 1978
(3) W. Tip Hall, Jr., in special runoff election 3/21/1978, sworn 3/29/1978, succeeded Walter E. Parker, resigned 1/5/1978. Hall's first session was 65th 2nd Called Session. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004, 2005.
(4) Special election 2/18/1978, runoff 3/21/1978. Texas Secretary of State - Election Dates Including Special Elections, 1966-2001.
(5) Oath date not found in journal. Not present at organization of the House 1/15/1975. Granted leave of absence due to illness, 1/14/1975, p. 9, and subsequent days. Present for roll call vote on 2/10/1975, p. 422. Statement of vote on p. 287 indicates unable to vote on HB 421 due to recent surgery. House Journal.

Biographical Notes and Resources top

Selected Newspaper articles

Biographical Sketches

Photo and obituary, 1/23/2010. Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Oral history interview available in Oral History Collection, University of North Texas.
Parker, Walter Earl. Cenotaph. Texas State Cemetery.

Military Service Notes

United States Army Air Corps, World War II, Korean War. Texas State Cemetery.

Other Resources

Walter Earl Parker, birth date 7/23/1917, death date 1/22/2010, burial in Odd Fellows Cemetery, Denton, Denton County. Includes obituary and photo. Find a Grave.
"From the Football Field to the State Capitol, He 'Did A Lot of Great Things' for the University of North Texas," 1/27/2010. Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Delegate to the Texas Constitutional Convention, 1974. Record of Proceedings, Texas Constitutional Convention: Official Journals, January 8 - July 30, 1974, 1975.
Notice of death, 2/3/2010. Speaker of the House.

Texas Monthly's Best and Worst Legislators

Named 'Honorable Mention'. Best and Worst Legislators 1973.

Photographs

Photograph. Walt Parker, 65th Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. Walt Parker, 64th Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. Walt Parker, 63rd Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. Walt Parker, 62nd Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. Walt Parker, 61st Legislature, State Preservation Board

Composite Photographs on Display in the Capitol

61st session composite photo of House members (Ground floor corridor, south wall. GW.C1). State Preservation Board.
62nd session composite photo of House members (Ground floor corridor, south wall. GW.C1). State Preservation Board.
63rd session composite photo of House members (Ground floor corridor, south wall. GW.C1). State Preservation Board.
64th session composite photo of House members (Ground floor corridor, south wall. GW.C1). State Preservation Board.
65th session composite photo of House members (Ground floor corridor, south wall. GW.L1). State Preservation Board.

Committee Information top

65th R.S. - 1977 Appropriations (Vice Chair) Funding Public Institutions of Higher Education, House Joint Long-term Care Alternatives
64th R.S. - 1975 Appropriations (Vice Chair) Elections Speaker's Financial Advisory Task Force
63rd R.S. - 1973 Appropriations Appropriations Subcommittee on Performance Evaluation and Review of State Programs Appropriations Subcommittee on State Aircraft Pooling (Chair) Appropriations Subcommittee on Utilization of Construction Funds (Chair) Appropriations Subcommittee on Utilization of State Owned Property Elections Environmental Affairs (Vice Chair) Environmental Affairs Subcommittee on State Parks
62nd R.S. - 1971 Appropriations College Instruction and Curriculum (Chair) Commerce and Manufacturing (Vice Chair) Common Carriers Elections Higher Education Mexican-American Rail Passenger Service Natural Resources No-Fault Automobile Insurance and Competitive Automobile Insurance Rate-Making Purchase of Perishable Commodities by State Institutions Rio Grande Water Study Water Development, Quality, and Conservation
61st R.S. - 1969 Appropriations Bexar County State Office Building Common Carriers Higher Education Highways and Roads Mass Transportation Texas-Mexico Friendship Youth

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