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W.E. (Pete) Snelson

W.E. 'Pete' Snelson

Full Name: Wallace Eugene "Pete" Snelson
Date of birth: March 28, 1923
Date of death: April 26, 2014

Terms of Service

Chamber District Dates of Service Legislatures Party City/County Note Counties in District
S 25 Jan 9, 1979 - Jan 11, 1983 67th (1) (2)   66th   Democrat Midland / Midland Dean of the Senate. (67th)   Bandera, Brewster, Coke, Comal, Crane, Crockett, Culberson, Edwards, Gillespie, Glasscock, Irion, Jeff Davis, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Kinney, Llano, Loving, Mason, Midland, Pecos, Presidio, Reagan, Real, Reeves, Schleicher, Sterling, Sutton, Terrell, Tom Green, Upton, Uvalde, Val Verde, Ward, Winkler
S 25 Jan 14, 1975 - Jan 9, 1979 65th   64th   Democrat Midland / Midland   Bandera, Brewster, Coke, Comal, Crane, Crockett, Culberson, Edwards, Gillespie, Glasscock, Irion, Jeff Davis, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Kinney, Llano, Loving, Mason, Midland, Pecos, Presidio, Reagan, Real, Reeves, Schleicher, Sterling, Sutton, Terrell, Tom Green, Upton, Uvalde, Val Verde, Ward, Winkler
S 25 Jan 9, 1973 - Jan 14, 1975 63rd (3)   Democrat Midland / Midland   Bandera, Brewster, Coke, Comal, Crane, Crockett, Culberson, Edwards, Gillespie, Glasscock, Irion, Jeff Davis, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Kinney, Llano, Loving, Mason, Midland, Pecos, Presidio, Reagan, Real, Reeves, Schleicher, Sterling, Sutton, Terrell, Tom Green, Upton, Uvalde, Val Verde, Ward, Winkler
S 25 Jan 14, 1969 - Jan 9, 1973 62nd (4)   61st   Democrat Midland / Midland Senate President Pro Tempore (62nd)   Brewster, Crane, Crockett, Ector, Edwards, Irion, Jeff Davis, Kinney, Loving, Midland, Pecos, Presidio, Reagan, Reeves, Schleicher, Sutton, Terrell, Tom Green, Upton, Uvalde, Val Verde
S 29 Jan 12, 1965 - Jan 10, 1967 59th (5)   Democrat Midland / Midland   Culberson, Ector, El Paso, Hudspeth, Loving, Midland, Reeves, Ward, Winkler
H 102 Jan 10, 1961 - Jan 8, 1963 57th   Democrat Midland / Midland   Crane, Midland, Pecos, Upton

Terms of service footnotes


(1) 67th Legislature - Presentation of Deans of Senate, 1/13/1981, p. 8. [The Senate] selected 3 Members to serve as Deans of the Senate. Senator Brooks will serve the first 4 mos; Senator Mauzy the second 4 mos and Senator Snelson the last 4 mos of the year. Senate Journal.
(2) Senators Brooks, Mauzy, and Snelson shared the title of dean. See the Senate Journal, 67th Legislature, Vol. I, p. 8. Texas Senate, Secretary of the Senate - Memo, January 8, 2002, 'Deans of the Texas Senate', 2002.
(3) 63rd Legislature - Drawing for Terms of Office, 1/10/1973, pp. 12-13. Drew 2-year term. Senate Journal.
(4) 62nd Legislature - Senate President Pro Tempore, Ad Interim R.S., elected 5/31/1971; 1st C.S., elected 6/1/1971; and Ad Interim 1st C.S., elected 6/4/1971. Senate Journal.
(5) 2-year term; entire Senate went up for reelection in 1966 due to redistricting. Reapportionment of Senate districts occurred in the 59th Legislature, Regular Session (1965), ch. 324 (SB 547). Texas Constitution Art. III, §3, Election and term of office of Senators.

Terms of Service

Legislatures:
67th (1) (2)   66th  
Leadership role:
Dean of the Senate. (67th)
(66th)
Party:
Democrat
Home City/County:
Midland / Midland
Counties in district:
Bandera, Brewster, Coke, Comal, Crane, Crockett, Culberson, Edwards, Gillespie, Glasscock, Irion, Jeff Davis, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Kinney, Llano, Loving, Mason, Midland, Pecos, Presidio, Reagan, Real, Reeves, Schleicher, Sterling, Sutton, Terrell, Tom Green, Upton, Uvalde, Val Verde, Ward, Winkler

Legislatures:
65th   64th  
Party:
Democrat
Home City/County:
Midland / Midland
Counties in district:
Bandera, Brewster, Coke, Comal, Crane, Crockett, Culberson, Edwards, Gillespie, Glasscock, Irion, Jeff Davis, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Kinney, Llano, Loving, Mason, Midland, Pecos, Presidio, Reagan, Real, Reeves, Schleicher, Sterling, Sutton, Terrell, Tom Green, Upton, Uvalde, Val Verde, Ward, Winkler

Legislatures:
63rd (3)  
Party:
Democrat
Home City/County:
Midland / Midland
Counties in district:
Bandera, Brewster, Coke, Comal, Crane, Crockett, Culberson, Edwards, Gillespie, Glasscock, Irion, Jeff Davis, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Kinney, Llano, Loving, Mason, Midland, Pecos, Presidio, Reagan, Real, Reeves, Schleicher, Sterling, Sutton, Terrell, Tom Green, Upton, Uvalde, Val Verde, Ward, Winkler

Legislatures:
62nd (4)   61st  
Leadership role:
Senate President Pro Tempore (62nd)
(61st)
Party:
Democrat
Home City/County:
Midland / Midland
Counties in district:
Brewster, Crane, Crockett, Ector, Edwards, Irion, Jeff Davis, Kinney, Loving, Midland, Pecos, Presidio, Reagan, Reeves, Schleicher, Sutton, Terrell, Tom Green, Upton, Uvalde, Val Verde

Legislatures:
59th (5)  
Party:
Democrat
Home City/County:
Midland / Midland
Counties in district:
Culberson, Ector, El Paso, Hudspeth, Loving, Midland, Reeves, Ward, Winkler

Legislatures:
57th  
Party:
Democrat
Home City/County:
Midland / Midland
Counties in district:
Crane, Midland, Pecos, Upton

Terms of service notes


(1) 67th Legislature - Presentation of Deans of Senate, 1/13/1981, p. 8. [The Senate] selected 3 Members to serve as Deans of the Senate. Senator Brooks will serve the first 4 mos; Senator Mauzy the second 4 mos and Senator Snelson the last 4 mos of the year. Senate Journal.
(2) Senators Brooks, Mauzy, and Snelson shared the title of dean. See the Senate Journal, 67th Legislature, Vol. I, p. 8. Texas Senate, Secretary of the Senate - Memo, January 8, 2002, 'Deans of the Texas Senate', 2002.
(3) 63rd Legislature - Drawing for Terms of Office, 1/10/1973, pp. 12-13. Drew 2-year term. Senate Journal.
(4) 62nd Legislature - Senate President Pro Tempore, Ad Interim R.S., elected 5/31/1971; 1st C.S., elected 6/1/1971; and Ad Interim 1st C.S., elected 6/4/1971. Senate Journal.
(5) 2-year term; entire Senate went up for reelection in 1966 due to redistricting. Reapportionment of Senate districts occurred in the 59th Legislature, Regular Session (1965), ch. 324 (SB 547). Texas Constitution Art. III, §3, Election and term of office of Senators.

Biographical Information

  • Biographical sketch, military photos, and military service. WALLACE E. (PETE) SNELSON; Patriot, Chapter 1919; Texas State Senator, Retired; Army, WWII, Europe. Includes news articles, "Fifth Snelson Brother Joins Armed Forces," and "Pete Snelson Selected to the Men of Mines." Military Order of the Purple Heart, Texas Capital Chapter 1919, Austin, Texas.
  • United States Army, Technical Sergeant, World War II; United States Army Reserve, Lieutenant. "In 1943, Pete was called to active duty by the US Army. After basic training, Pete was sent by the Army Specialized Training Program to the University of Nebraska to study German language, history, and culture. Pete joined the 44th Infantry Division, Company B of the 324th Infantry Regiment which was deployed to Cherbourg, France. On November 13, 1944, Pete's Company attacked the German line in the Vosges Mountains where he was wounded. After three months of recuperation, he was interviewed and selected for service as a Special Agent in the 307th Counter Intelligence Corp detachment at 7th Army Headquarters. Prior to Pete's discharge from the US Army as a Technical Sargent, he received a Purple Heart, Bronze Star, and Combat Infantryman's Badge. He remained in the US Army Reserve and was commissioned as a Lieutenant and served as a commander of the Counter Intelligence Corps unit at Fort Bliss, Texas." Texas State Cemetery.
  • United States Army, United States Army Reserve. Photo and salute. With Honor and Gratitude: A Special Thank You to Our Texas Senate Members Who Served Our Country, 2017.

  • Named one of 'The Best'. Best and Worst Legislators 1981.
  • Named 'Honorable Mention'. Best and Worst Legislators 1979.

Committee Information

Senate Committees

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