Dick Brown, a long-time member of the Westbank community, passed away on March 5th, 2020. He was an early volunteer at our library, and seeing our need for stable funding, he devised and lobbied for legislation to create tax-funded library districts. Westbank Library was the first library district in Texas, and now there are fourteen other communities in Texas that also have libraries because of this legislation.
Dick became a library Board Trustee in 2000, and served as Vice President from 2002 until 2014, working on the expansion of Westbank Library (2000), the building of the Laura Bush Library (2009), and the planning for our 2015 renovation.
Since he retired from our Board in 2014, Dick has kept in regular contact. He has taught me everything I know about the Texas Legislative session and sales tax law. He has offered advice on public relations. He has shared articles on a variety of topics – law, taxes, libraries, grammar, and the Oxford comma. And he sent along kudos whenever we made him proud.
I am deeply saddened by the loss of Dick Brown but richer for having experienced his character, kindness, strength, wit, and wisdom. In his last email a couple weeks ago, he shared with me that ending a sentence with a preposition was only a suggestion and never intended as a rule, so that’s the thought I will end with.
We’ll miss you, Dick!
Mary Jo