Remembering T. Gerald Treece, Legendary South Texas College of Law Houston Professor

T. Gerald Treece, a longtime South Texas College of Law Houston professor, vice president and associate dean of advocacy, died July 13 after a lengthy illness. He was 75 years old. 

Treece grew up in Odessa, Texas, where he was a member of the first freshman class and the football team at Odessa Permian High School — the setting for the film and TV series Friday Night Lights. He was a proud, self-proclaimed “West Texas boy,” and he maintained ties to his hometown, remaining connected to his home church and the Permian football program throughout his life. A 2008 article for a local sports news outlet shares an anecdote about Treece waiting eagerly for his cellphone service to be restored in the middle of Hurricane Ike so he could check in on the high school’s football score.