Erath 4th of July Celebration
2008 Grand Marshal J. Weldon Granger
The
Erath 4th of July Association is proud to announce
the selection of J. Weldon Granger as the Grand Marshal of the
63rd Annual Erath 4th of July
Celebration. Granger is a native of Erath, whose love for his
hometown has never waned.
J. Weldon Granger was born in Erath, Louisiana on January 26,
1946, one of eleven children born to Willis and Edith Granger.
He grew up in Erath and later attended the University of
Southwestern Louisiana in Lafayette, where he received a degree
in Industrial Engineering in 1969. It was in Lafayette that he
met his wife, the former Fran Debaillon.
They moved to Houston soon after college, where Weldon received
his law degree from South Texas College of Law in 1974, and
where he and Fran raised their children, Jennifer, John and
Jason. Jennifer and Doug Doyle have three sons, Dillon, William
and Austin; and John and Julie Granger have two sons, Wells and
Alex.
For the past 35 years, Weldon has been the owner and managing
partner of a national law firm specializing in federal
litigation and representation of members of the railway labor
industry. He is the founder and chairman of the board of an
insurance company serving the rail industry, as well as chairman
of a Texas based hotel development corporation. For 30 years,
W. Granger Stables, located south of Erath, has been a major
breeder of thoroughbred horses in Louisiana and Texas.
Over the course of his career, Weldon has received many awards
and honors, among them the Gift of Sight award from a California
organization which provides seeing eye dogs to those who cannot
afford them, served as founding director of a rail labor
organization of attorneys in Washington, D.C., and served on the
board of directors of a Houston organization working to improve
hospital emergency rooms.
In 1995, he was honored as a Distinguished Alumnus by the
University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and in 1998, he and Fran
established The Willis Granger and Tom Debaillon Eminent Scholar
Endowed Chair in Fracophone Studies at UL Lafayette.
With his lifelong love of art, Weldon has been a patron of and
supported a number of young Texas artists in the development of
their careers and served on the boards of various art museums.
The community of Erath has always occupied a special place in
Weldon’s heart. It is because of this love that he has been a
supporter of many civic organizations through the years,
although he has always wished to remain behind the scenes.
Weldon has been a major benefactor of the Acadian Museum in
Erath, where he has served on the Board of Directors since the
museum was founded in 1990.
The Erath 4th of July Association is honored to have
J. Weldon Granger serve as the Grand Marshal of the 2009
Celebration. It is but a small token of the appreciation we
have for all he has done for the community of Erath.
