Fred Agnich

Frederick Joseph Agnich
Born	Template:Birth date Eveleth, Minnesota, U.S.
Died	October 28, 2004(2004-10-28) (aged 91)
Occupation(s)	Geophysicist, businessman, politician
Years active	1937–1989
Known for	Texas House of Representatives (1971–1987), Texas Republican National Committeeman (1972–1976), president of Texas Instruments

Frederick Joseph Agnich (July 19, 1913 – October 28, 2004) was a geophysicist originally from Minnesota and a Republican legislator in the Texas House of Representatives from 1971 until 1987. Additionally, he held the position of Texas Republican National Committeeman between 1972 and 1976.

Background

Born in Eveleth, Minnesota, Agnich completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in geology at the University of Minnesota in 1937. He relocated to Texas to join Geophysical Services, Inc., a firm specializing in oil exploration both within the United States and internationally, with operations in countries such as Venezuela, Sumatra, and Pakistan. This enterprise later became known as Texas Instruments, headquartered in Dallas. Agnich advanced to executive vice president in 1951 and was appointed president in 1956, stepping down from the board at age forty-eight in 1961.

In 1939, he wed Ruth Welton; together they had three sons: William Frederick (born around 1942), Richard John (1943), and James Randall (1950). Following Ruth’s passing in 1975, he married Brooksie Jeanne Penland Willie in 1977, who brought five children into the family.

Between 1955 and 1959, Agnich served as chairman of the board for Greenhill School in Addison, Texas—the Dallas-Fort Worth area’s first co-educational, nonsectarian private school. His community involvement extended to trustee duties at the Southwest Center for Advanced Studies (now the University of Texas at Dallas) and directorship roles at the Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Opera, Dallas Historical Society, and the Dallas Petroleum Club located in Chase Tower.

Political life

During the 1950s, Agnich was active in raising funds for the Texas Republican Party as well as for the unsuccessful presidential bids of Richard M. Nixon and Barry M. Goldwater in 1960 and 1964 respectively. From 1967 to 1969, he took on the role of Republican chairman for Dallas County, following investor Peter J. O'Donnell. In 1972, he was chosen as national committeeman at the state Republican convention and subsequently served as vice chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1974 through 1976.

Agnich secured election to the Texas House of Representatives in 1970 representing District 33-R (renamed District 114 in 1983), becoming the first Republican to win countywide office in Dallas County since Reconstruction. His victory came during a predominantly Democratic election year when statewide candidates George Herbert Walker Bush and Paul Eggers were defeated. Although he contemplated running for governor in 1972, he ultimately did not enter the race; instead, Republicans nominated State Senator Henry Grover, who lost to Democrat Dolph Briscoe. Agnich also supported fundraising efforts for Senator John Tower, who won a third term that year. His fellow Republican House members elected him minority leader in 1972.

He took part in the unsuccessful state constitutional convention of 1974. In 1977, Agnich hired Karl Rove as a legislative assistant based in his Dallas office. Over his eighteen years as a legislator, he served on both Appropriations and Finance committees and chaired the Environmental Affairs Subcommittee focused on Wildlife. His dedication to environmental issues was influenced by his stewardship of a 3,500-acre ranch near Athens, Texas, where he established a wildlife sanctuary and pursued habitat conservation studies.

In 1979, Agnich backed former Democratic Governor John Connally’s bid for the Republican presidential nomination; however, Ronald Reagan won both the nomination and presidency. Known for his generally conservative stance, Agnich voiced concerns about excessive funding for higher education in Texas but was also part of the "Dirty Thirty" group that uncovered corruption during the Sharpstown banking scandal and challenged Speaker Gus Mutscher’s authority. He was an advocate for environmental policies including support for the Wildlife Conservation Act of 1983.

After retiring in 1989 with his wife Brooksie, they resided between homes located in Dallas, Athens (Texas), and Lake Lenore near Ouray, Colorado. Agnich passed away at ninety-one following a prolonged illness shortly before President George W. Bush’s reelection campaign. Brooksie died in 2016 at age eighty-three.

His contributions are honored through the Fred J. Agnich Scholarship Fund maintained by the Texas Association of Professional Geoscientists based in Austin.