AUSTIN, Texas — Austin's most beloved resident and the oldest World War II veteran in the country at the time, Richard A. Overton, passed away Dec. 27, 2018. He would have turned 113 this Saturday, May 11.
Overton lived a long life, and it was filled with people who loved him.
He was born May 11, 1906 in Bastrop County, Texas. He joined the Army in 1940 as a member of the 188th Engineer Aviation Battalion.
RELATED:
Overton came back to Texas in 1945, working at local furniture stores and then as a courier for the Texas Department of the Treasury at the Texas State Capitol where he served four Texas governors before he retired.
His time was filled with friends and family, afternoons spent sitting on his front porch, but he also liked to stay busy.
PHOTOS: Remembering Richard Overton, America's oldest living veteran
“That’s the only thing that will keep you living. You got to keep moving. You don’t sit down and watch TV all the time. You have to keep moving," Overton said.
President Barack Obama invited Overton to Washington, D.C., in 2013 to visit the White House and participate in a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. Obama led a standing ovation to honor Overton during the ceremony, and he later said it was one of the proudest moments of his life.
Last year on Overton's birthday, Austin Mayor Steve Adler declared May 11th to be Richard Overton Day. Austin also changed the name of the street he lived on, Hamilton Avenue, to Richard Overton Avenue.
RELATED:
That wasn't the only landmark put in place to honor Overton. In February of this year, State Representative Sheryl Cole (D-Austin) filed a bill that proposed the portion of State Loop 111, or Airport Blvd., between its northern intersection with Levander Loop and its intersection with Parkwood Road be designated as the "Richard Overton Memorial Highway."
The bill passed unanimously in the House on April 26. The bill now heads to the Senate. If it passes there, it will take effect on Sept. 1.
PHOTOS: Richard Overton laid to rest at Texas State Cemetery
RELATED:
PEOPLE ARE ALSO READING: