Graham Boynton Purcell Jr. | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromTexas's13th district | |
| In office January 27, 1962 – January 3, 1973 | |
| Preceded by | Frank N. Ikard |
| Succeeded by | Bob Price |
| Judge of the 89th Judicial District Court | |
| In office 1955–1962 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1919-05-05)May 5, 1919 |
| Died | June 11, 2011(2011-06-11) (aged 92) Wichita Falls, Texas |
| Resting place | Archer City Cemetery inArcher City,Texas |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | Texas A&M University Baylor Law School |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Graham Boynton Purcell Jr. (May 5, 1919 – June 11, 2011),[1] was aUnited States representative fromTexas' 13th congressional district.
Born inArcher City inArcher County, a part of theWichita Fallsmetropolitan statistical area, Purcell attended public schools and received hisBachelor of Science from theAgricultural and Mechanical College of Texas in 1946, and hisLL.B. in 1949 fromBaylor Law School inWaco, Texas.
Purcell served in theUnited States Army duringWorld War II from 1941 to 1946 and served thereafter in theUnited States Army Reserve.He served as judge of the Eighty-ninth Judicial District Court of Texas from 1955 to 1962. He was a delegate to the1960 and1964Democratic national conventions, which met inLos Angeles andAtlantic City,New Jersey, respectively to nominate theKennedy-Johnson and the Johnson-Humphrey tickets, both of which prevailed in Texas.
Purcell was elected to theEighty-seventh Congress, byspecial election, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of fellow Democrat, RepresentativeFrank N. Ikard. He was reelected to the five succeeding congresses (January 27, 1962 – January 3, 1973). In 1966, whenJohn Tower won his second term as U. S. senator, Purcell defeated theRepublican Dillard Carlisle "Bunny" Norwood (1913-1993) of Wichita Falls.
On November 22, 1963, Purcell was riding in the motorcade's third vehicle behindU.S. President Kennedy during theassassination inDallas, Texas.
Although Texas gained a seat as a result of the 1970 Census, Purcell's 13th District was dismantled, and his home in Wichita Falls was merged with thePanhandle-based 18th District of RepublicanBob Price for the 1972 elections. The new district was numerically Purcell's district—the 13th—but was geographically more Price's district. Purcell retained only one-third of his former constituents. Forced to run in territory that he did not know and that did not know him, Purcell was defeated by nine points.
In 1993, House bill HR 2292 was passed designating the federal building in Wichita Falls as the Graham B. Purcell Jr. Post Office and Federal Building.[2] Purcell resided in Wichita Falls until his death at the age of ninety-two.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromTexas's 13th congressional district 1962–1973 | Succeeded by |
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| National | |
| People | |
