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Men of Distinction
Dick Gregg, Jr.
By Sue Mayfield-Geiger

Obviously a man who doesn't need much introduction, Dick Gregg, Jr. is as native to the bay area as the Great Blue Herons who inhabit the wetlands of the Galveston Bay shoreline. Lawyer/writer/philosopher/dance aficionado/art collector/humanitarian, Dick's presence is larger than life in these parts where he practices law, publishes his prose, is now or has been City Attorney for numerous bay side towns, participates actively in the community, and devotes countless hours to civic projects.

A lawyer with "smarts and common sense," Dick is known for being a winner - not only in the courtroom, but also in his personal life. Having survived bouts with cancer on two occasions, he considers himself blessed and fortunate. His tall stature, twinkling eyes and sincere smile project the teddy bear image known to his many friends. Intelligent, witty and a master of the English language, Dick collects dictionaries containing obscure categories (over 40 at last count) from all over the world. His Mensa quality vocabulary astounds those who instigate in-depth conversations with him, but his intellect is something he chooses not to flaunt unless you encourage him. His written words in print are another matter, however. Readers who read his monthly column often ask, "What did he mean by that?" I always tell them, "However you want to interpret it."

A native Houstonian, Dick's impressive lineage includes: his great grandfather, a physician, who was the first President of the Harris County Medical society as well as being the very first graduate of the University of Texas; his father, also a lawyer, who was Assistant General Counsel for Exxon and General Counsel for the Friendswood Development Company; his aunt, who was the first female graduate of Rice University; his mother, also a Rice graduate; two younger brothers, both doctors (one a radiologist; the other a doctor/professor of infectious diseases); two sons and one daughter who are lawyers; another son who is a commercial real estate broker; and one daughter who is a professional singer. Seemingly, a privileged beginning with a bloodline rivaling the Romanovs, Dick allows that although his early years provided him with a comfortable lifestyle, his parents taught him to live his life with integrity. And from that one word stems the basis of his character. His grandparent's bayside home in Seabrook afforded him the opportunity to explore nature, develop a love for the shore, and lose himself in a wilderness that would eventually become the metroplex where he now practices law.

Since his father was a lawyer, Dick always wanted to be one, too. With undergrad and law degrees from the University of Texas, he began his career at the Attorney General's office in Austin. Toying with the idea of public office, Dick soon learned that he got more of a thrill being behind the scenes. Besides, his contention is that the two don't really mix. "In order to get to a higher level in politics, you have to really devote your life to it; then you can't be a very good lawyer," he allows. "You have to choose. You can do both and maintain a practice, but you never really develop good lawyer skills if you are a long-term, professional politician," Dick offers.

So, with any aspirations of politics in check, Dick began his law journey. Leaving Austin for LaPorte, he practiced with Kiibler & Kiibler for eleven years. In 1976, he moved to Clear Lake and continued practicing with other firms until 1998 when he formed Gregg & Gregg with sons, Dick Gregg, III and Christopher Gregg. Currently the City Attorney for Kemah, Nassau Bay and Webster, Dick and the firm also handle all of the prosecution for League City. He incorporated the towns of Nassau Bay and Simonton, Texas, and has served as City Attorney for Seabrook, Pearland, and South Houston. His attendance at nighttime council meetings, special meetings, emergency meetings, as well as planning and zoning meetings prompted the Houston Chronicle to dub him the "Night Watchman" in a recent article. Aside from that, Dick finds time to serve on community boards and do legal work for them on a pro-bono basis as needed. He has been Chairman of the Clear Lake Metropolitan Ballet, President of Armand Bayou Nature Center, Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, and Space Center Rotary. He serves on the boards of CLAEDF, Ballunar Festival, and the Clear Creek Education Foundation, and on the advisory committees of Bridgeport Community in Schools and the Bay Area Assistance League.

"I tend to do more service work for organizations than I do for individuals, although I have done my share of pro-bono work for people who couldn't afford it," Dick offers. "But generally I put my time with organizations that I feel do a good thing for the community, and try to assist them with legal matters that they otherwise couldn't afford. I believe in paying back a community that's been good to you," he states.

So, with all the lawyer jokes that have been roaming the country for years, how does Dick feel about his profession getting a bad rap? "Well, there are bad apples in any profession," he says. "As for my colleagues who have given the profession a bad name, I don't justify it. Integrity is something that should exist in any profession. I'll admit that there are those in my business who have not done everything on the up-and-up. On the other hand, there are more out there who help people who can't help themselves," he offers. And who might his law heroes be? Well, he knew the late, great Percy Foreman and watched him in action. "Percy was a brilliant, remarkable man," Dick says. "Those kind of personalities are lions. They go right to the core of what somebody or something is about, which is a masterful thing. Joe Jamail, Warren Burnett and Dick DeGuerin are in that same league," he contends. So, commanding a presence in the courtroom when the Judge becomes secondary and the moments become heated and tense, what really constitutes all that power? Dick explains: "You have to really know what you are doing. You not only have to have a force of personality, you have to have the ability and the knowledge that goes with it to be able to produce. It's the same way with politics. When some politicians walk into a room, you know something has happened. It's intangible, beautiful and rare. John Connally had it; LBJ had it; and Kennedy had it," he concludes. So, do you have it, I ask? "Oh, I don't think so," he says. But, there are those I'm sure who would beg to differ.

What constitutes success as far as Dick is concerned is being able to help people in a profession that he enjoys - practicing law. It also happens to go hand-in-hand with his favorite part of being a lawyer - rainmaking. "There are two things you can do in this business," he states. "One is actually creating documents and lawsuits, etc., but there's also rainmaking, whereby people hire you because they know something is happening to them, and they're not happy about it. You help them figure things out through your knowledge and/or contacts to make things happen faster. These are very important aspects because time is money, and when people are having trouble, I like to be able to solve the problem by getting to the real meaning behind it, finding out who the true culprit is, and seeing what I can do - that's called rainmaking," he explains. He goes on to say that too many people measure success by dollars. "I don't measure success that way," he says. "I've made a comfortable living, but more importantly, I feel like I've built a reputation and a following, and through that, I've been able to help people. I enjoy that."

As far as his value system is concerned, Dick credits his parents, who not only taught him the importance of strong values, but also education and the arts. His father's hobby was making fine-crafted furniture, and his mother was involved in painting, flower arranging, ceramics and woodcutting. But basically, he believes that one should have integrity and be proud of what they do; never having to be concerned about explaining their actions. "If you can live life by that standard, you'll do well," he states. Obviously, his committed value system has put him in many leadership roles throughout his youth and career. Being presidents of organizations in junior high, high school, college and law school paved the way to being President of many other organizations, including his law firm. "I'm the oldest, so I get to be President," he smiles. But, we all can't be leaders, can we? "Yes," Dick allows. "I think anyone can develop leadership skills. There are born leaders, and there are those who have to work very hard at what they do. You have to develop whatever skills you have to the point where they mean something, and that requires a lot of work," he states.

If there is one single formula for success, Dick says it would be - to read. "We can't live long enough to learn everything there is to learn from books," he says. "If you don't read, there are many things you will never experience. Once you read and see an idea, you will see it over and over again," he states. And of course, reading leads us into writing, Dick's passion. If he wasn't a lawyer, he'd definitely be a writer. Or at least more of a writer than he is now. If he had the time, he'd write volumes on folkways, history and cultural anthropology. Tapping into both his left and right brain when he writes, he finds inspiration in many things. "I love to find beautiful writings, no matter the topic," he says. Crediting his "lateral thinking" ability to his father, Dick explains that lateral thinking is the ability to see in a given context something parallel to it in many other contexts in a quick retrieval way, so that he can parallel what is obvious and what is not so obvious. In other words, what is apparent and what is subtle. Get it? Well, for those of you who don't, Dick relates how he used to think that everybody thought like that; hence, the intellect of his written words.

As for setting and keeping goals, Dick admits that he was never too good at that until he met Lynette, his present wife, who is very organized. (She has to be, being the Director of the Clear Lake Metropolitan Ballet.) With his new computerized compact personal data system, he now keeps an accurate account of both his business and personal life all inside the tiny apparatus that fits in the palm of his hand. Short-term goals are all that really clog his head at this juncture in life, relating how he's basically achieved all of his long-term goals. He explains: "I've reached the point to where I'm happy where I am - in my profession, as a parent, a husband, citizen. I feel like I've achieved success in those arenas. I guess I would like to find more time to write, but not at the expense of my family." Family comes first with Dick, although carving out precious family time is not always easy. As a matter of fact, his New Year's resolution is to do just that.

What with losing his former wife to breast cancer and surviving his own personal battles with Melanoma, Dick relates how cancer is something he's learned to live with and not fear. "Once you've had Melanoma, you're never cancer-free," he cautions. "It's the kind of thing they continue to track, because it's a very capricious kind of cancer. My first episode in 1976 changed my idea from one of immortality with an attitude of, 'I've got plenty of time to do whatever I want to do,' to one of, 'I've only got so much time to do what's important,'" he advises. "So, it's made me measure my concept of my future better and give a better focus to what's really important. But I don't live in fear of it. It is what it is. I've survived it, and hopefully, I will continue to." Dick added that along with that first diagnosis in 1976, he was told he had a 50/50 chance of living five years. "And here I am," he gleams; adding that the doctor who gave him that bit of news has since died.

When asked what one thing could make the world a better place, Dick answered without hesitation: "Tolerance. I'd like to see a broader diversification of the media. It concerns me that we are only getting a consolidation of the media down to the point where only one point of view comes across. Like Clarence Darrow said, 'I'm always suspicious when the bankers speak for the poor; let the poor speak for themselves.' It makes a difference who's translating and what kind of filter it's going through." He goes on to say that perhaps the Internet might be the answer, but that we should all stay educated and question things enough to make up our own minds rather than listening to someone telling us what to think.

So, what are children of today getting from society? How has the world changed to affect their thinking? "Well, historically, there was always the idea that a company would take care of you, then in turn, you were loyal to them. Now with the recent Enron situation, all the mergers, layoffs, there's no loyalty left. So, there's no loyalty going back the other way, either," Dick allows. "People used to think in terms of a corporation being a nurturing womb with support system awards. That whole concept has been thrown into a cocked hat," he alludes. Dick points out that the fracturing of the mythical family has also been a contributing factor - how families used to stay together for a lifetime, and now they don't. Although he admits that he doesn't know the answer, he thinks it's a combination of society's fault, the economy's fault, and the major corporation's fault. Some fault does lie with young people's attitudes, but those attitudes have justification, he adds.

Satisfied with his accomplishments thus far, would he change anything at all about his life? Comparing himself to an Air Stream trailer, he says, "I would be less compartmentalized and more spontaneously open with those I'm close to." Allowing how most men of his generation have a certain stoicism, he credits wife, Lynette, for helping penetrate those walls and open up the side of him that now shines through.

In his rare free moments, Dick likes to do wood cuts with linoleum blocks, write (of course) and go to the theatre and auctions in New York. His present dream for he and Lynette is to spend an entire Christmas there, ice skating at Rockefeller Center, dining somewhere special on Christmas Eve, and just soaking up the ambiance of Manhattan.

In closing, I asked Dick if he would share one of his many poems with our readers. "Which one?" he asked. "Any one of your choosing," I replied. He later sent me the following love poem that he wrote for Lynette in 1995. Tender, poignant, short, and sweet, the words are a tribute to the woman who has made his life complete. The fact that he chose this poem over the hundreds he has written (specifically of the Mensa variety), is another indication of this distinctive gentleman's fine qualities. And, for all you single ladies reading this; yes, the good ones are always taken!

THE BEACH IN WINTER
Hold my hand.
Touch my hair.
Walk that beach again with me.
Hear the cries of winter shorebirds.
Whisper how to find pure sure words.
Put your arm with mine forever.
Live with me in winter weather.
I remember yesterday
and probably will forever.
I can feel you in the wind
and you in me and in my mind.
Dick Gregg, Jr.
Copyright January 30, 1995