Teel Bivins
Encyclopedia
Miles Teel Bivins served as United States ambassador to Sweden
between 2004 and 2006. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 21, 2004, and sworn in at Washington D.C., on May 26. He presented his credentials to King Carl XVI Gustaf in Stockholm
on June 9. He left the position early after being stricken with progressive supranuclear palsy
, a fatal condition.
member of the Texas State Senate from 1989 to 2004 from Senate District 31
, based about Amarillo
. He was first elected in 1988, when the incumbent
Democratic
state senator, Bill Sarpalius
, was elected to the United States House of Representatives
. Thereafter, Bivins did not face an opponent in a general election
. Bivins chaired the Senate Finance Committee, the Education Committee, the Nominations Committee and the Agricultural Subcommittee of the Natural Resources Committee. In addition, he co-chaired the Interim Committee on Public School Finance during the 78th session and in 1999 served on the Electric Utility Restructuring Oversight Committee. He worked for tort reform
in Texas. Bivins supported measures to increase accountability and spending in public education, to stop social promotions, and to increase financial aid for college students. In 2008, his contributions were recognized by West Texas A&M University
in Canyon
through the Teel Bivins Chair in Political Science.
In 1999 and 2001, Bivins was recognized as one of the most influential lawmakers by the Dallas Morning News. In 1997 and 2001, Bivins was included among the "Ten Best Legislators" by Texas Monthly
magazine
. A Dallas
blogger described Bivins, along with colleagues David Sibley
of Waco
and Bill Ratliff
of Mt. Pleasant as having formed a particularly effective "triumvirate
" in the management of the Senate during the 1990s.
Bivins was also one of the most successful fundraisers during the 2000 and 2004 presidential campaigns for George W. Bush
.
in 1951 in Amarillo, Texas
. Lee drowned near Lima, Peru
, while swimming with his family in the Pacific Ocean
. Bivins graduated from Tulane University
in New Orleans and went to law school at Southern Methodist University
in Dallas
. In 1976, Bivins and his brother Tom formed a partnership, Bivins Brothers. In 1978, Bivins, along with his two brothers, Mark and Tom, Dale Smith, and Jay O’Brien, formed a partnership, Corsino Cattle Co., still in existence. He was also involved in petroleum
and natural gas
exploration.
Teel Bivins had extensive ranch
holdings in the Texas Panhandle
. In 1990, he introduced a Senate resolution honoring the memory of Tom Blasingame
, the oldest cowboy
in the history
of the American West. Blasingame taught Bivins, as a youth, how to handle livestock
. Teel Bivins's paternal grandfather, also named Lee Bivins, was the mayor
of Amarillo from 1925 until his death in office in 1929.
Bivins's former wife, Cornelia "Ninia" Ritchie, grew up on the 900000 acres (3,642.2 km²) JA Ranch
southeast of Amarillo. Clarence Hailey Long
, the original inspiration of the Marlboro Man
advertising
campaign, was a foreman at the JA, when he was featured in 1949 in Life Magazine photograph
s about the American West. Long married Cornelia's nanny, Ellen Theresa Rogers. In 2005, Bivins' son, Andrew Montgomery Bivins, joined the management team of the JA as the fifth generation heir. Andrew is the grandson of Montgomery Harrison Wadsworth Ritchie
, Cornelia's father, who managed the JA from 1935 until his retirement in 1993.
Bivins was an avid outdoorsman, a skiier
and fisherman
, who also annually visited the 4UR Ranch in Creede
, Colorado
. After a private interment, a public memorial service was held on October 29 at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Amarillo. Survivors included his brothers, Mark Bivins and Tom Bivins, both of Amarillo, and their wives; his children, Andrew Bivins and wife, Wendy Ryan Bivins of Amarillo; Katherine Teel Bivins of Amarillo; William Terrill Bivins of Amarillo and Carolyn Hamilton Bivins of Houston
; his grandson, Nolan Montgomery Bivins, and numerous nieces and nephews. A third brother, Levi Bivins, preceded him in death.
United States Ambassador to Sweden
The United States Ambassador to Sweden serves as the chief representative of the United States Foreign Service to the Kingdom of Sweden, and 1814 to 1905, also to Norway, which was politically aligned with Sweden...
between 2004 and 2006. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 21, 2004, and sworn in at Washington D.C., on May 26. He presented his credentials to King Carl XVI Gustaf in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
on June 9. He left the position early after being stricken with progressive supranuclear palsy
Progressive supranuclear palsy
Progressive supranuclear palsy is a degenerative disease involving the gradual deterioration and death of specific areas of the brain....
, a fatal condition.
State senate service
Bivins served as a RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
member of the Texas State Senate from 1989 to 2004 from Senate District 31
Texas Senate, District 31
District 31 of the Texas Senate is a senatorial district that currently serves Andrews, Bailey, Cochran, Crane, Dallam, Deaf Smith, Ector, Gaines, Glasscock, Hansford, Hartley, Hemphill, Howard, Hutchinson, Lipscomb, Martin, Midland, Moore, Ochiltree, Oldham, Parmer, Potter, Randall, Roberts,...
, based about Amarillo
Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo is the 14th-largest city, by population, in the state of Texas, the largest in the Texas Panhandle, and the seat of Potter County. A portion of the city extends into Randall County. The population was 190,695 at the 2010 census...
. He was first elected in 1988, when the incumbent
Incumbent
The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
state senator, Bill Sarpalius
Bill Sarpalius
William "Bill" Sarpalius is a former Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, having represented from 1989 to 1995 District 13, which covers the Texas Panhandle eastward to Wichita Falls, Texas....
, was elected to the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
. Thereafter, Bivins did not face an opponent in a general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
. Bivins chaired the Senate Finance Committee, the Education Committee, the Nominations Committee and the Agricultural Subcommittee of the Natural Resources Committee. In addition, he co-chaired the Interim Committee on Public School Finance during the 78th session and in 1999 served on the Electric Utility Restructuring Oversight Committee. He worked for tort reform
Tort reform
Tort reform refers to proposed changes in common law civil justice systems that would reduce tort litigation or damages. Tort actions are civil common law claims first created in the English commonwealth system as a non-legislative means for compensating wrongs and harm done by one party to...
in Texas. Bivins supported measures to increase accountability and spending in public education, to stop social promotions, and to increase financial aid for college students. In 2008, his contributions were recognized by West Texas A&M University
West Texas A&M University
West Texas A&M University , part of the Texas A&M University System, is a public university located in Canyon, Texas, a small city south of Amarillo. West Texas A&M opened on September 20, 1910...
in Canyon
Canyon, Texas
Canyon is a city in Randall County, Texas, United States. The population was 12,875 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Randall County. It is the home of West Texas A&M University and Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum. Palo Duro Canyon State Park is some twelve miles east of Canyon...
through the Teel Bivins Chair in Political Science.
In 1999 and 2001, Bivins was recognized as one of the most influential lawmakers by the Dallas Morning News. In 1997 and 2001, Bivins was included among the "Ten Best Legislators" by Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Austin, Texas. Texas Monthly is published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. and was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, Texas Monthly chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the environment, industry, and education...
magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
. A Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
blogger described Bivins, along with colleagues David Sibley
David Sibley (politician)
David McAdams Sibley, Sr. , is a lobbyist and attorney in Austin and Waco, Texas, who served from 1991 to 2002 as a Republican member of the Texas State Senate...
of Waco
Waco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
and Bill Ratliff
Bill Ratliff
William Roark Ratliff, known as Bill Ratliff , is a Texas politician who served as a member of the Texas State Senate from 1988 to 2004. Between 2000 and 2003 he served as Lieutenant Governor of Texas, after former lieutenant governor Rick Perry succeeded to the governorship to replace George W...
of Mt. Pleasant as having formed a particularly effective "triumvirate
Triumvirate
A triumvirate is a political regime dominated by three powerful individuals, each a triumvir . The arrangement can be formal or informal, and though the three are usually equal on paper, in reality this is rarely the case...
" in the management of the Senate during the 1990s.
Bivins was also one of the most successful fundraisers during the 2000 and 2004 presidential campaigns for George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
.
Family background
Bivins was the son of Lee Truscott Bivins (June 2, 1916–July 18, 1972) and Betty Teel Bivins, later Betty Lovell (October 2, 1919–January 16, 2008). Betty and Lee founded the St. Andrew’s Episcopal SchoolSt. Andrew's Episcopal School (Amarillo, Texas)
St. Andrew's Episcopal School is a private school located in Amarillo, Texas, USA, providing education from pre-kindergarten to grade 8. The school was founded in 1951. In December 2010, the Plainview Daily Herald described St. Andrew's as "regarded among the [Texas] Panhandle's finest private...
in 1951 in Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo is the 14th-largest city, by population, in the state of Texas, the largest in the Texas Panhandle, and the seat of Potter County. A portion of the city extends into Randall County. The population was 190,695 at the 2010 census...
. Lee drowned near Lima, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, while swimming with his family in the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. Bivins graduated from Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
in New Orleans and went to law school at Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
in Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
. In 1976, Bivins and his brother Tom formed a partnership, Bivins Brothers. In 1978, Bivins, along with his two brothers, Mark and Tom, Dale Smith, and Jay O’Brien, formed a partnership, Corsino Cattle Co., still in existence. He was also involved in petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
and natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
exploration.
Teel Bivins had extensive ranch
Ranch
A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...
holdings in the Texas Panhandle
Texas Panhandle
The Texas Panhandle is a region of the U.S. state of Texas consisting of the northernmost 26 counties in the state. The panhandle is a rectangular area bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east...
. In 1990, he introduced a Senate resolution honoring the memory of Tom Blasingame
Tom Blasingame
Thomas Everett Blasingame, known as Tom Blasingame , was a Texas cowboy for seventy-three years. At ninety-one, he was still on the job at the JA Ranch south of Amarillo. Two days after Christmas in 1989, he dismounted his horse, Ruidosa, stretched out on the grass, folded his arms across his...
, the oldest cowboy
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
in the history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
of the American West. Blasingame taught Bivins, as a youth, how to handle livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
. Teel Bivins's paternal grandfather, also named Lee Bivins, was the mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Amarillo from 1925 until his death in office in 1929.
Bivins's former wife, Cornelia "Ninia" Ritchie, grew up on the 900000 acres (3,642.2 km²) JA Ranch
JA Ranch
The JA Ranch, jointly founded by John George Adair and Charles Goodnight, is the oldest privately owned cattle ranch in the Palo Duro Canyon section of the Texas Panhandle southeast of Amarillo. At its peak size in 1883, the JA, still run by descendants of the Adair family, encompassed some of...
southeast of Amarillo. Clarence Hailey Long
Clarence Hailey Long
Clarence Hailey Long, Jr., often known as C.H. Long , was the rugged Texas cowboy sensationalized as the original Marlboro Man. Long, then foreman of the JA Ranch, was catapulted to national attention in 1949, when LIFE magazine published a series of Leonard McCombe photographs on ranching in the...
, the original inspiration of the Marlboro Man
Marlboro Man
The Marlboro Man is a figure used in tobacco advertising campaign for Marlboro cigarettes. In the United States, where the campaign originated, it was used from 1954 to 1999. The Marlboro Man was first conceived by Leo Burnett in 1954. The image involves a rugged cowboy or cowboys, in nature with...
advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
campaign, was a foreman at the JA, when he was featured in 1949 in Life Magazine photograph
Photograph
A photograph is an image created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are created using a camera, which uses a lens to focus the scene's visible wavelengths of light into a reproduction of...
s about the American West. Long married Cornelia's nanny, Ellen Theresa Rogers. In 2005, Bivins' son, Andrew Montgomery Bivins, joined the management team of the JA as the fifth generation heir. Andrew is the grandson of Montgomery Harrison Wadsworth Ritchie
Montie Ritchie
Montgomery Harrison Wadsworth Ritchie , known as Montie Ritchie, was a dual British subject and American citizen who became a leading cattle rancher and businessman in the Texas Panhandle during the 20th century. From 1935-1993, he was the manager of his family-owned JA Ranch southeast of Amarillo...
, Cornelia's father, who managed the JA from 1935 until his retirement in 1993.
Bivins was an avid outdoorsman, a skiier
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
and fisherman
Fisherman
A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishermen and fish farmers. The term can also be applied to recreational fishermen and may be used to describe both men...
, who also annually visited the 4UR Ranch in Creede
Creede, Colorado
The historic town of Creede is a Statutory Town that is the county seat of, and the only incorporated municipality in, Mineral County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 377 at the U.S. Census 2000.-History:...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. After a private interment, a public memorial service was held on October 29 at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Amarillo. Survivors included his brothers, Mark Bivins and Tom Bivins, both of Amarillo, and their wives; his children, Andrew Bivins and wife, Wendy Ryan Bivins of Amarillo; Katherine Teel Bivins of Amarillo; William Terrill Bivins of Amarillo and Carolyn Hamilton Bivins of Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
; his grandson, Nolan Montgomery Bivins, and numerous nieces and nephews. A third brother, Levi Bivins, preceded him in death.