Frank Randall Nye, Jr. A devoted husband, a loving father, grandfather, great-grandfather and friend, Frank Randall Nye, Jr., found no greater joy than being surrounded by his family. He served as an attorney and counselor for fifty-five years. Born in Laredo, Texas, on September 23, 1922, to Frank Randall and Ozema Nye, Randy graduated from Martin High School in 1940. He was a graduate of Texas A&M College in College Station, Texas, and was a proud member of the "Class of 1944" and Texas Aggie Corps of Cadets. On December 8, 1941, he volunteered for the U.S. Army. He was sent to Camp Roberts, in the Salinas Valley in San Bernardino, California, for infantry training, and he was later transferred to the U.S. Army Signal Corps., in Sacramento, California. When he attended Signal Corps Officer Candidate School in Monmouth, New Jersey, he graduated at the top of his class. Randy was then assigned to undergo World War II Signal Corps Training at Camp Crowder, Missouri. As a Message Center Officer with Unit 3101 Signal Service Battalion, he was sent to the China-Burma-India Theater on Troop Ship U.S.S. General McRae, reaching Calcutta on February 20, 1945. As Communications Officer, he served as Ship Officer and Top Secret Officer. From Calcutta, he was sent to the Burma Road and placed in charge of top secret codes for all of the C-B-I Theater where he was stationed. He decoded the FOR YOUR EYES ONLY "Top Secret Message" as follows: "To all Theater chaplains, Prepare for prayers of thanksgiving for immediate end of war due to use of cataclysmic weapon by order of President Harry S. Truman. George C. Marshall, War Chief of Staff, Washington, D.C. Message decoded by LT. Frank R. Nye, Jr., 3101 Sig. Bn." The Atomic Bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki three days later. Frank Randall Nye, Jr., was in command of the last convoy out of the Burma Road region. He was then sent from China to Theater headquarters in New Delhi, India, where he remained until he was transferred to China Theater Headquarters in Shanghai. After an honorable discharge and back to living the life of a civilian, Randy returned to Laredo and soon enrolled in the University of Texas School of Law in Austin, where he was a member of Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity. During that time he started courting Ms. Conna Jean Newton, the love of his life. He received his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree in 1950. Randy was admitted to practice in the United States of America Supreme Court, Washington, D.C., U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, Texas Supreme Court, and Texas 4th Court of Civil Appeals, San Antonio. He served as County Attorney and County Judge of Starr County. He was District Attorney, 229th District, for Starr, Duval and Jim Hogg Counties. In 1972, he retired from public office and went into private practice in Starr County. Nye was a rancher, hunter and outdoorsman. The best times in his life were spent at the ranch with family. He was a master story teller, and it was during these times that he would keep everyone captivated by the stories of a young boy spending precious time with his beloved mother and father. These were the times he cherished. He is survived by his wife, Conna Newton Nye; son, William Alfred (Al) Nye and his wife, Yasmina, of Mission, Texas; daughter, Nancy and her husband William (Mike) Comer, of Austin; son, Raymond Randall (Ray) Nye, Sr., of Marble Falls; a son and his wife, James Lloyd (Jimmy) Nye and Janice of Mission; grandchildren, Randall Boone LaGrange and his wife, Holly, of Houston; Cari LaGrange Murphy, Houston; Jennifer LaGrange Davenport and her husband, John, of Atlanta, Georgia; Harper Nye Hudsonpiller and her husband, Steven, of Mountain Home; Micajah Autry Nye of McAllen; Daphne Nye Archer and husband, Jason, of Sharyland; Megan Nicole Nye of Austin; Raymond Randall (R.J.) Nye, Jr., of Austin; Frank Randall (Sonny) Nye III of Mission; and beloved great-grandchildren, Taylor Mackenzie Murphy, Grayson Boone LaGrange, Catherine Reilly LaGrange, Elizabeth (Ellie) Ainsley Davenport, Reagan Caroline Davenport, and Abygale Nye Hudsonpiller. He is survived by one sister, Ollie, and her husband, Bill Lowry, of New Braunfels. He was preceded in death by his baby daughter Marian Jean, his parents Frank and Ozema Nye, and sister Lorraine Fansler. Pallbearers are John Stoley, Dade Stoley, Doug Becker, Balde Garza, Willie Aguilar, and Randy Waits. Honorary pallbearers include Fidel Lara, Dr. Mario Ramirez, Judge Ricardo Hinojosa, Judge John Pope, Judge Alex Gabert, Kika Dela Garza, Ray Toland, Jack Hart, H.P. Guerra III, Dr. Rafael Garza, and Ramon Flores. The family wishes to extend special thanks to caretakers Fidel Lara and Charlie Pena for their compassion during our father's final illness. Memorial contributions may be made to Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church, 620 N. Dunlap, Mission, TX 78572. Visitation will be at 6:00 p.m. Friday, May 1, 2009 with at rosary at 7:00 p.m. at Kreidler Funeral Home, 314 N. 10th St. in McAllen. Funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, May 2, 2009 at Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mission with burial to follow at Valley Memorial Gardens Cemetery. kreidlerfuneralhome.com
Published in Austin American-Statesman on May 1, 2009