MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2004 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Dawkins, Gollott, Lee (47th), Hewes, Jackson (32nd), Simmons, Robertson, Brown, King, Doxey, Walls, Ross, Walley, Turner, Jordan, Jackson (11th), Williamson, Jackson (15th), Lee (35th), Burton, Frazier, Gordon, Harden, Horhn, Hyde-Smith, Little, Moffatt, Morgan, Posey, Thames, Tollison
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION COMMENDING THE LIFE OF WELL-KNOWN GULFPORT ATTORNEY, ACTOR AND WORLD WAR II VETERAN BOYCE HOLLEMAN, AND EXPRESSING THE SYMPATHY OF THE LEGISLATURE.
WHEREAS, it is with sadness that we note the passing of Jesse Boyce Holleman, who died on November 21, 2003, at age 79; and
WHEREAS, Honorable Boyce Holleman, an attorney, actor, World War II veteran and civic treasure, was born and raised in Wiggins, Mississippi, began the practice of law there in May 1950 and comes from an old pioneer lumbering family in South Mississippi. He and his family moved to Gulfport in 1967, where he resided at the time of his death; and
WHEREAS, he served in World War II as a Naval aviator, was shot down while making a bomb run at the invasion of Saipan and spent fourteen months recovering from severe burns sustained. He retired from the Navy with the rank of Lieutenant Commander and was awarded the Purple Heart; and
WHEREAS, he attended Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College at Perkinston and the University of Mississippi, graduating from Law School in 1950. He was a lifelong fan of both institutions. He was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives in 1947 and served until 1953 when he resigned in the second term to become District Attorney for the Mississippi Gulf Coast. He was reelected five times to the position, retiring in 1972 after nineteen years, to return to the private practice of law. He was joined in his private practice by his sons, Mike, Tim and Dean. He served as attorney for the Board of Supervisors of Harrison County for eighteen years and the Harrison County School District for fifteen years. He was elected President of the Mississippi State Bar Association, serving from 1969 through 1970. In 1995 he was awarded the Outstanding Achievement in Law Award by the Mississippi State Bar Association. He was recently one of five lawyers in the State of Mississippi selected by the Bar Association to have an autobiographical video made of his legal career, which is entitled "Trailblazers of the Mississippi Legal Frontier"; and
WHEREAS, he has lectured widely on the legal circuit, and in 1975 began a theatrical career, which led him to perform many stage roles and appear in many movies and television series. Boyce had a starring role in a movie based on Eudora Welty's book called "The Ponder Heart." He remained an active member of the Screen Actor's Guild; and
WHEREAS, he is survived by his wonderful wife, Annie Louise Holleman; his two daughters, Diane Holleman Kiser and her husband Mitch, and Beth Holleman; his four sons, David Holleman, Mike Holleman, Tim Holleman and his wife Lisa, Dean Holleman and his wife Laurie; three stepdaughters and one stepson; and
WHEREAS, Boyce Holleman will surely be missed, but his legacy lives on in the love the people of the Mississippi Gulf Coast have for Mississippi's rich literary heritage and in the respect of the members of The Mississippi Bar for a well-known practitioner: NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby commend the life of well-known Gulfport attorney, actor, World War II veteran and civic treasure, Jesse Boyce Holleman, and express to his family the sympathy of the Legislature on his passing.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to the surviving family of Boyce Holleman and be made available to the Capitol Press Corps.