Texas Supreme Court advisory

Contact: Osler McCarthy, staff attorney for public information
512.463.1441 or click for email

Friday, February 19, 2010
JUSTICE WAINWRIGHT’S FAMILY SUFFERS
DOUBLE DEATH IN ONE DAY

Justice Dale Wainwright got word Thursday that his mother died, moments after he was notified that his wife Debbie’s grandmother died.

Services for Justice Wainwright’s mother, Mary Wainwright Hawkins, 70, will be Tuesday in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, and Monday in Livingston, Tennessee, for Debbie Wainwright’s grandmother, Marie Lewis, 88.

Mrs. Lewis, who lived in Livingston, died after suffering a brain aneurism. Mrs. Hawkins had Alzheimer’s Disease. She lived in Mount Juliet.

“The Court wishes to express its condolences to Dale, Debbie and their families,” Chief Justice Wallace B. Jefferson said. “We will keep them in our thoughts and prayers as they cope with this tragic set of events.”

Justice Wainwright learned about both deaths at the conclusion of the Austin Bar Association appellate section’s “Evening with the Texas Supreme Court,” where he was one of six justices on a panel discussion.

His mother was an ordained minister who delivered the benediction at his investiture in 2003.

The funeral for Debbie Wainwright’s grandmother will be at the First Baptist Church, 708 E. Main Street, Livingston, Tennessee 38570. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be considered in her memory to the church.

The funeral for Mrs. Hawkins will be at J.C. Hellums Funeral Home, 107 Stokes Street, Lebanon, Tennessee 37087-3726. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be considered in her memory to the Alzheimer’s Association, 4205 Hillsboro Pike, Suite 216, Nashville, Tennessee 37215.