Earl Luna, a politically active lawyer who represented many suburban school districts and pioneered a desegregation program for Garland schools, died Thursday of complications from heart surgery.
Mr. Luna, 74, had been in intensive care at Medical City Dallas since bypass surgery in May, said his son
The Garland resident and Caddo Mills native attended a school so small that he was the only student in his ninth-grade class. He attended law school at the University of Texas, eventually making schools his specialty but also serving as counsel to the Dallas County Commissioners Court.
He served for 13 years as a Garland school trustee, including nine years as board president.
"He was very proud of the freedom-of-choice desegregation plan that was adopted for the Garland Independent School District," his son said.
While he was board president in 1963, Mr. Luna cast the deciding vote in a 4-3 decision that made the Garland school district one of the first in the area to become racially integrated.
A building at Baylor Medical Center at Garland, which he helped found, is named after him, as is Earl Luna Elementary School in Garland.
Those who knew him - and there were many - mourned his passing.
"Can you print tears?" said former Garland Mayor Ruth Nicholson. "As a close and dear friend of Earl's, I not only feel the loss for myself but for the city of Garland. He contributed greatly to the civil life of the city, always generous of his time and money. He was a model citizen."
Dallas County Commissioner Jim Jackson said Mr. Luna "probably was the best public policy lawyer I have ever known. He always gave me good advice and was a friend I could always rely on. . . . I learned to appreciate him in a way I appreciate few lawyers."
That friendship came despite initial misgivings, he said.
"When I ran for Commissioners Court in 1974, one of the issues I raised was the amount of money the county paid Earl," Mr. Jackson said. "After I got on the court and saw the job he did and the work he put into it, I kind of left it alone. When some reporter asked me about it a few years later, I said, 'I was wrong.' "
Roy Orr, a former Dallas County commissioner and DeSoto mayor, called Mr. Luna "probably the greatest lawyer that Dallas ever saw," one who "saved the county millions of dollars."
Mr. Orr said Mr. Luna was passionately committed to minority rights. As a major player in the Dallas County Democratic Party, of which he was once chairman, he often contributed money to allow minority delegates to attend political conventions.
Even after he became a Republican, he still helped support minority Democrats, Mr. Orr said.
Mr. Luna helped create a school-choice system that was the first of its kind in the country, and one of the few to survive past the 1980s. The plan allows students to pick the schools they want to attend, as long as the ethnic mix at the schools remains within a set range.
The plan still stands, although it has drawn more criticism lately. Originally created to accommodate African-American students, it has come under fire recently from Hispanic leaders.
Mr. Luna represented the family of former Garland Mayor James L. Toler, convicted of bank fraud and racketeering, as they settled federal claims against the family's property.
His widespread work for school systems - including Garland, DeSoto, Richardson, Carrollton-Farmers Branch, Duncanville, Waxahachie and others - occasionally led to conflicts. In 1991, during debate over the Robin Hood school finance reform plan, trustees for the wealthy Plano district complained that his work for poorer districts conflicted with their interests.
"If the worst thing I'm being blamed for is representing the Carrollton-Farmers Branch school district, I'll be pretty happy," Mr. Luna said at the time. "The good Lord ought to let me in personally at the pearly gates."
Dallas County Judge Lee Jackson was speechless Thursday night when told of Mr. Luna's death.
"A lot of people know politics and a lot of people know courtrooms but not many knew the two the way Earl Luna did," he said after composing himself. "No lawyer in the Dallas area been as personally involved in every aspect of the government and political system."
In addition to his son, Mr. Luna is survived by his wife, his daughter of Austin; and four grandchildren.
Funeral arrangements are pending at Williams Funeral Directors in Garland.
Dallas Morning News (TX), August 16, 1996
Mr. Luna, 74, had been in intensive care at Medical City Dallas since bypass surgery in May, said his son
The Garland resident and Caddo Mills native attended a school so small that he was the only student in his ninth-grade class. He attended law school at the University of Texas, eventually making schools his specialty but also serving as counsel to the Dallas County Commissioners Court.
He served for 13 years as a Garland school trustee, including nine years as board president.
"He was very proud of the freedom-of-choice desegregation plan that was adopted for the Garland Independent School District," his son said.
While he was board president in 1963, Mr. Luna cast the deciding vote in a 4-3 decision that made the Garland school district one of the first in the area to become racially integrated.
A building at Baylor Medical Center at Garland, which he helped found, is named after him, as is Earl Luna Elementary School in Garland.
Those who knew him - and there were many - mourned his passing.
"Can you print tears?" said former Garland Mayor Ruth Nicholson. "As a close and dear friend of Earl's, I not only feel the loss for myself but for the city of Garland. He contributed greatly to the civil life of the city, always generous of his time and money. He was a model citizen."
Dallas County Commissioner Jim Jackson said Mr. Luna "probably was the best public policy lawyer I have ever known. He always gave me good advice and was a friend I could always rely on. . . . I learned to appreciate him in a way I appreciate few lawyers."
That friendship came despite initial misgivings, he said.
"When I ran for Commissioners Court in 1974, one of the issues I raised was the amount of money the county paid Earl," Mr. Jackson said. "After I got on the court and saw the job he did and the work he put into it, I kind of left it alone. When some reporter asked me about it a few years later, I said, 'I was wrong.' "
Roy Orr, a former Dallas County commissioner and DeSoto mayor, called Mr. Luna "probably the greatest lawyer that Dallas ever saw," one who "saved the county millions of dollars."
Mr. Orr said Mr. Luna was passionately committed to minority rights. As a major player in the Dallas County Democratic Party, of which he was once chairman, he often contributed money to allow minority delegates to attend political conventions.
Even after he became a Republican, he still helped support minority Democrats, Mr. Orr said.
Mr. Luna helped create a school-choice system that was the first of its kind in the country, and one of the few to survive past the 1980s. The plan allows students to pick the schools they want to attend, as long as the ethnic mix at the schools remains within a set range.
The plan still stands, although it has drawn more criticism lately. Originally created to accommodate African-American students, it has come under fire recently from Hispanic leaders.
Mr. Luna represented the family of former Garland Mayor James L. Toler, convicted of bank fraud and racketeering, as they settled federal claims against the family's property.
His widespread work for school systems - including Garland, DeSoto, Richardson, Carrollton-Farmers Branch, Duncanville, Waxahachie and others - occasionally led to conflicts. In 1991, during debate over the Robin Hood school finance reform plan, trustees for the wealthy Plano district complained that his work for poorer districts conflicted with their interests.
"If the worst thing I'm being blamed for is representing the Carrollton-Farmers Branch school district, I'll be pretty happy," Mr. Luna said at the time. "The good Lord ought to let me in personally at the pearly gates."
Dallas County Judge Lee Jackson was speechless Thursday night when told of Mr. Luna's death.
"A lot of people know politics and a lot of people know courtrooms but not many knew the two the way Earl Luna did," he said after composing himself. "No lawyer in the Dallas area been as personally involved in every aspect of the government and political system."
In addition to his son, Mr. Luna is survived by his wife, his daughter of Austin; and four grandchildren.
Funeral arrangements are pending at Williams Funeral Directors in Garland.
Dallas Morning News (TX), August 16, 1996
Earl Luna, a politically active lawyer who represented many suburban school districts and pioneered a desegregation program for Garland schools, died Thursday of complications from heart surgery.
Mr. Luna, 74, had been in intensive care at Medical City Dallas since bypass surgery in May, said his son
The Garland resident and Caddo Mills native attended a school so small that he was the only student in his ninth-grade class. He attended law school at the University of Texas, eventually making schools his specialty but also serving as counsel to the Dallas County Commissioners Court.
He served for 13 years as a Garland school trustee, including nine years as board president.
"He was very proud of the freedom-of-choice desegregation plan that was adopted for the Garland Independent School District," his son said.
While he was board president in 1963, Mr. Luna cast the deciding vote in a 4-3 decision that made the Garland school district one of the first in the area to become racially integrated.
A building at Baylor Medical Center at Garland, which he helped found, is named after him, as is Earl Luna Elementary School in Garland.
Those who knew him - and there were many - mourned his passing.
"Can you print tears?" said former Garland Mayor Ruth Nicholson. "As a close and dear friend of Earl's, I not only feel the loss for myself but for the city of Garland. He contributed greatly to the civil life of the city, always generous of his time and money. He was a model citizen."
Dallas County Commissioner Jim Jackson said Mr. Luna "probably was the best public policy lawyer I have ever known. He always gave me good advice and was a friend I could always rely on. . . . I learned to appreciate him in a way I appreciate few lawyers."
That friendship came despite initial misgivings, he said.
"When I ran for Commissioners Court in 1974, one of the issues I raised was the amount of money the county paid Earl," Mr. Jackson said. "After I got on the court and saw the job he did and the work he put into it, I kind of left it alone. When some reporter asked me about it a few years later, I said, 'I was wrong.' "
Roy Orr, a former Dallas County commissioner and DeSoto mayor, called Mr. Luna "probably the greatest lawyer that Dallas ever saw," one who "saved the county millions of dollars."
Mr. Orr said Mr. Luna was passionately committed to minority rights. As a major player in the Dallas County Democratic Party, of which he was once chairman, he often contributed money to allow minority delegates to attend political conventions.
Even after he became a Republican, he still helped support minority Democrats, Mr. Orr said.
Mr. Luna helped create a school-choice system that was the first of its kind in the country, and one of the few to survive past the 1980s. The plan allows students to pick the schools they want to attend, as long as the ethnic mix at the schools remains within a set range.
The plan still stands, although it has drawn more criticism lately. Originally created to accommodate African-American students, it has come under fire recently from Hispanic leaders.
Mr. Luna represented the family of former Garland Mayor James L. Toler, convicted of bank fraud and racketeering, as they settled federal claims against the family's property.
His widespread work for school systems - including Garland, DeSoto, Richardson, Carrollton-Farmers Branch, Duncanville, Waxahachie and others - occasionally led to conflicts. In 1991, during debate over the Robin Hood school finance reform plan, trustees for the wealthy Plano district complained that his work for poorer districts conflicted with their interests.
"If the worst thing I'm being blamed for is representing the Carrollton-Farmers Branch school district, I'll be pretty happy," Mr. Luna said at the time. "The good Lord ought to let me in personally at the pearly gates."
Dallas County Judge Lee Jackson was speechless Thursday night when told of Mr. Luna's death.
"A lot of people know politics and a lot of people know courtrooms but not many knew the two the way Earl Luna did," he said after composing himself. "No lawyer in the Dallas area been as personally involved in every aspect of the government and political system."
In addition to his son, Mr. Luna is survived by his wife, his daughter of Austin; and four grandchildren.
Funeral arrangements are pending at Williams Funeral Directors in Garland.
Dallas Morning News (TX), August 16, 1996
Mr. Luna, 74, had been in intensive care at Medical City Dallas since bypass surgery in May, said his son
The Garland resident and Caddo Mills native attended a school so small that he was the only student in his ninth-grade class. He attended law school at the University of Texas, eventually making schools his specialty but also serving as counsel to the Dallas County Commissioners Court.
He served for 13 years as a Garland school trustee, including nine years as board president.
"He was very proud of the freedom-of-choice desegregation plan that was adopted for the Garland Independent School District," his son said.
While he was board president in 1963, Mr. Luna cast the deciding vote in a 4-3 decision that made the Garland school district one of the first in the area to become racially integrated.
A building at Baylor Medical Center at Garland, which he helped found, is named after him, as is Earl Luna Elementary School in Garland.
Those who knew him - and there were many - mourned his passing.
"Can you print tears?" said former Garland Mayor Ruth Nicholson. "As a close and dear friend of Earl's, I not only feel the loss for myself but for the city of Garland. He contributed greatly to the civil life of the city, always generous of his time and money. He was a model citizen."
Dallas County Commissioner Jim Jackson said Mr. Luna "probably was the best public policy lawyer I have ever known. He always gave me good advice and was a friend I could always rely on. . . . I learned to appreciate him in a way I appreciate few lawyers."
That friendship came despite initial misgivings, he said.
"When I ran for Commissioners Court in 1974, one of the issues I raised was the amount of money the county paid Earl," Mr. Jackson said. "After I got on the court and saw the job he did and the work he put into it, I kind of left it alone. When some reporter asked me about it a few years later, I said, 'I was wrong.' "
Roy Orr, a former Dallas County commissioner and DeSoto mayor, called Mr. Luna "probably the greatest lawyer that Dallas ever saw," one who "saved the county millions of dollars."
Mr. Orr said Mr. Luna was passionately committed to minority rights. As a major player in the Dallas County Democratic Party, of which he was once chairman, he often contributed money to allow minority delegates to attend political conventions.
Even after he became a Republican, he still helped support minority Democrats, Mr. Orr said.
Mr. Luna helped create a school-choice system that was the first of its kind in the country, and one of the few to survive past the 1980s. The plan allows students to pick the schools they want to attend, as long as the ethnic mix at the schools remains within a set range.
The plan still stands, although it has drawn more criticism lately. Originally created to accommodate African-American students, it has come under fire recently from Hispanic leaders.
Mr. Luna represented the family of former Garland Mayor James L. Toler, convicted of bank fraud and racketeering, as they settled federal claims against the family's property.
His widespread work for school systems - including Garland, DeSoto, Richardson, Carrollton-Farmers Branch, Duncanville, Waxahachie and others - occasionally led to conflicts. In 1991, during debate over the Robin Hood school finance reform plan, trustees for the wealthy Plano district complained that his work for poorer districts conflicted with their interests.
"If the worst thing I'm being blamed for is representing the Carrollton-Farmers Branch school district, I'll be pretty happy," Mr. Luna said at the time. "The good Lord ought to let me in personally at the pearly gates."
Dallas County Judge Lee Jackson was speechless Thursday night when told of Mr. Luna's death.
"A lot of people know politics and a lot of people know courtrooms but not many knew the two the way Earl Luna did," he said after composing himself. "No lawyer in the Dallas area been as personally involved in every aspect of the government and political system."
In addition to his son, Mr. Luna is survived by his wife, his daughter of Austin; and four grandchildren.
Funeral arrangements are pending at Williams Funeral Directors in Garland.
Dallas Morning News (TX), August 16, 1996
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