AUSTIN, Texas - Former Gov. Bill Clements, who in 1979 became the first Republican elected governor in Texas since Reconstruction and whose belief that state government should operate like a big business helped change the face of Texas politics, died Sunday. He was 94.
Clements, who served two terms as governor despite losing his first re-election bid, died at a Dallas-area hospital, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said. A former Texas oilman, Clements had been in failing health for the past year because of a stroke, state Rep. Harvey Hilderbran told the House floor Sunday.
The Texas House then honored Clements with a moment of silence.
"As the father of the modern-day Texas Republican Party, Governor Clements is responsible for the growth, success and election of Texas Republicans in every corner of our state," Gov. Rick Perry said. "Today, Texans and Americans have lost a leader whose leadership, service and patriotism were unparalleled."
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Democrat Mark White upset his re-election bid in 1982, but Clements came back four years later to defeat White.
Tragedy struck the Clements family last year when his son, B. Gill Clements, was found shot to death and buried in a shallow grave behind a home adjacent to the Clements' east Texas ranch. B. Gill Clements was apparently shot by a neighbor who was known for using an assault weapon to guard his property. Authorities shot and killed the neighbor.
In his later years, Bill Clements raised cattle and was a Texas history buff.
