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About 200 attend state funeral of Rep. Buddy West
The Associated Press
Published June 28, 2008
AUSTIN — State leaders gathered Saturday at the Texas State Cemetery remembered Rep. Buddy West as a jovial man who loved the West Texas district he represented for 16 years.
About 200 people paid their respects to West under the hot afternoon sun, among them Gov. Rick Perry, House Speaker Tom Craddick, Attorney General Greg Abbott and numerous House members.
West died on Wednesday in an Odessa hospice after suffering from kidney problems. He was 71.
West, a Republican, lost his seat in an April runoff with Odessa attorney and former judge Tyron Lewis. He had been serving out the rest of his term, which expires at the end of this year.
Perry said West was devoted to his family, knowledgeable about issues in his district and worked hard to improve his alma mater, the University of Texas of the Permian Basin.
"If they were casting a movie of the history of West Texas, I think Buddy West would have been the perfect character in that movie to play the lead role," Perry said. "He not only looked the part, he lived the part."
Craddick said he would remember West for his smile on the House floor. West always took care of the people and oil and gas interests in his district, said Craddick, whose Midland district is adjacent to the one West represented.
"Buddy had an interesting attitude; it was his friends, it wasn't somebody he was representing," Craddick said.
West was a retired safety engineer for Amoco Production, where he worked for 30 years.
He is survived by his wife, Shirley, seven grandchildren and a great-grandchild.
Story located at the Galveston County Daily News . |
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