House Resolution 33

A RESOLUTION MOURNING THE LOSS AND COMMEMORATING THE LIFE AND MANY ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE HONORABLE EUGENE COURSEY TULLOS, AND EXPRESSING DEEPEST SYMPATHY TO HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS UPON HIS PASSING.

WHEREAS, it is written in Ecclesiastes 3:1 that "To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under the Heaven," and as such, on May 24, 2016, the immaculate author and finisher of our soul's destiny summoned the mortal presence of dearly beloved, Honorable Eugene Coursey Tullos, to eternal rest, rendering great sorrow and loss to his family and friends; and

WHEREAS, the Honorable Eugene Coursey Tullos was born and raised in Raleigh, Smith County, Mississippi, and began practicing law in Smith County, Mississippi, in 1966, after graduating from the University of Mississippi Law School; and

WHEREAS, an outstanding basketball player, Eugene Coursey Tullos was inducted into the Mississippi College Sports Hall of Fame in 2007, the Jones County Junior College Sports Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Junior College Sports Hall of Fame in 2009; and

WHEREAS, committed to honoring the service of all Smith County veterans, Eugene Coursey Tullos compiled a list of every combat veteran from Smith County who served from World War I through the Vietnam War, which included over 1,840 names that were then engraved on a 60 foot long and 7 foot tall granite wall donated to the people of Smith County and placed in the Courthouse Square by Eugene Coursey Tullos, to stand as permanent recognition and acknowledgement of the many sacrifices Smith County veterans made for their county and country; and

WHEREAS, mindful of the incomparable sacrifice of soldiers killed in action, Eugene Coursey Tullos assembled and presented photographs and biographies of every Smith County veteran killed in combat from World War I through the Vietnam War to the Smith County Courthouse for display; and

WHEREAS, Eugene Coursey Tullos also assembled and presented a photograph and biography of every Smith County Sheriff, Chancery Clerk and Circuit Clerk that has ever served in such a position to the Smith County Courthouse for display and has amassed over 7,000 photographs of the towns, villages and people of Smith County; and

WHEREAS, an avid historian, Eugene Coursey Tullos has served as a board member of the Mississippi Historical Society, has written hundreds of articles about the history of Smith County politics, the families and towns, many of which have been published in the Smith County Reformer, and was interviewed in and narrated a portion of Sullivan's Hollow, a documentary, in addition to assisting Judge Robert G. Evans in the editing and compilation of The 16th Mississippi Infantry, Civil War Letters and Reminiscences, as well as serving as an intermediary along with Judge Robert G. Evans in the donation to the University of Southern Mississippi, the Civil War letters of Captain William Harris Hardy, an attorney from Smith County, Mississippi, who founded Hattiesburg, Gulfport and Laurel; and

WHEREAS, in order to preserve the history of Smith County, Eugene Coursey Tullos identified and placed historical markers at the location of the Harrison Hotel in Raleigh, where individuals such as Theodore Bilbo and Jefferson Davis stayed, the location of the childhood home of Governor Anselm Joseph McLaurin, the campsite for Union Colonel Benjamin Grierson and Grierson's Raiders along the Leaf River of Smith County; and

WHEREAS, in 2005, Eugene Coursey Tullos commissioned the construction of a dome that he donated to Smith County to replicate the dome from the original 1912 construction of the Smith County Courthouse; and

WHEREAS, beginning in 2008, Eugene Coursey Tullos served on the Board of the Jones County Junior College Foundation, and he also established the Tullos Scholarship Program, which is awarded annually to freshmen at Jones County Junior College who have distinguished themselves through their scholarship and service to others, including academic achievements, involvement in college activities, community service and leadership positions; and

WHEREAS, though he has traversed the river of life to reunite with those who have answered God's call to eternal life and beckon his arrival to the celestial shores of Heaven's grandeur, the memory of Honorable Eugene Coursey Tullos, a man held in the highest regard by friends and family as an inspiring and precious gift from God, will continue to refresh the hearts and memories of his beloved survivors; and

WHEREAS, we encourage the family to find solace from the overwhelming sadness created by the earthly departure of their beloved family member in Revelation 21:4, wherein is recorded, "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away" and renewed in their faith that Honorable Eugene Coursey Tullos fulfilled the commandment of II Timothy 4:7 by having fought a good fight, finishing his course and keeping the faith until the hour of his departure was at hand; and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of the House of Representatives to mourn the loss and recognize the outstanding individual contributions of fine Mississippians, especially those such as the Honorable Eugene Coursey Tullos, whose unwavering commitment to the practice of law, the history of Mississippi and the history of Smith County has brought great honor to the State of Mississippi and Smith County:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby mourn the loss and commemorate the life and many accomplishments of the Honorable Eugene Coursey Tullos, and express deepest sympathy to his family and friends upon his passing.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to the family of Honorable Eugene Coursey Tullos, the Smith County Board of Supervisors and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.