Florida Senate - 2014 SR 1686
By Senators Thrasher and Gaetz
6-02697-14 20141686__
1 Senate Resolution
2 A resolution honoring the memory of a true statesman,
3 Reubin O’Donovan Askew, the 37th Governor of Florida,
4 and remembering a life well lived on and off the
5 political stage.
6
7 WHEREAS, Reubin O’Donovan Askew was born on September 11,
8 1928, in Muskogee, Oklahoma, the youngest of six children of
9 Leon and Alberta Askew, and
10 WHEREAS, in 1937, Reubin O’Donovan Askew relocated with his
11 mother and siblings to her hometown, Pensacola, where he shined
12 shoes, bagged groceries, and delivered newspapers to help his
13 mother support the family, and
14 WHEREAS, upon graduating from Pensacola High School in
15 1946, Reubin O’Donovan Askew enlisted in the United States Army
16 as a paratrooper, serving for 2 years, and
17 WHEREAS, Reubin O’Donovan Askew attended Florida State
18 University, where he was student body president, joined the
19 Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, and, after earning a degree in
20 public administration in 1951, became an Air Force officer,
21 serving an additional 2 years of active duty during the Korean
22 War, and
23 WHEREAS, upon completing his tour of duty, Reubin O’Donovan
24 Askew studied law at the University of Florida Law School, was
25 class president and, after graduating in 1956, was Assistant
26 County Solicitor in Escambia County from 1956 to 1958, and
27 WHEREAS, Reubin O’Donovan Askew was elected to the Florida
28 House of Representatives in 1958 and continued to serve in the
29 House of Representatives until 1962, and
30 WHEREAS, Reubin O’Donovan Askew served in the Florida
31 Senate from 1962 to 1970, representing District 2, was President
32 Pro Tempore during the 1968-1970 term, and
33 WHEREAS, in 1970, Reubin O’Donovan Askew won election as
34 Florida’s Governor and subsequently was reelected to a second
35 term, and
36 WHEREAS, Reubin O’Donovan Askew was a champion of ethics,
37 transparency in government, tax reform, protection of Florida’s
38 environment, and, despite great political cost, racial and
39 gender equality, and
40 WHEREAS, Reubin O’Donovan Askew chaired the Education
41 Commission of the States from 1973 to 1974, the Southern
42 Governors’ Conference from 1974 to 1975, the Democratic
43 Governors’ Conference from 1976 to 1977, and the National
44 Governors’ Conference in 1977, and
45 WHEREAS, in 1979, Reubin O’Donovan Askew was appointed by
46 President Jimmy Carter as United States trade representative,
47 with cabinet and ambassador’s rank, a post he held for 2 years,
48 and
49 WHEREAS, Reubin O’Donovan Askew was an educator, teaching
50 government and politics at Florida International University,
51 Florida Atlantic University, Florida A&M University, the
52 University of Florida, which named its institute of politics and
53 society after him, and Florida State University, which named its
54 school of public administration and policy after him, and
55 WHEREAS, Reubin O’Donovan Askew is survived by his wife,
56 former First Lady of Florida Donna Lou Askew, whom he married in
57 1956, his children Kevin and Angela, and numerous grandchildren,
58 and
59 WHEREAS, Reubin O’Donovan Askew was a statesman who, by his
60 integrity, hard work, and dedication in the face of adversity,
61 helped restore Floridians’ trust in government, and
62 WHEREAS, it is most appropriate that the Florida Senate
63 commemorate the passing of one of its former members, who served
64 his district, this state, and his nation so admirably, NOW,
65 THEREFORE,
66
67 Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
68
69 That this legislative body does pause in its deliberations
70 to pay its respects to the late Governor Reubin O’Donovan Askew
71 and that the Florida Senate in session assembled does record
72 this testimonial of esteem and bereavement.
73 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be
74 presented to Mrs. Donna Lou Askew, a great and much admired
75 first lady, as a tangible token of the sentiments expressed in
76 this resolution.