STONEWALL, TEXAS – Make plans to join Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park and Lyndon B. Johnson State Park and Historic Site in celebrating the 117th anniversary of President Johnson’s birth. At 10:00 am on Wednesday, August 27, the National Park Service will host the annual wreath-laying ceremony at President Johnson’s gravesite on the LBJ Ranch. The ceremony continues a tradition that Lady Bird Johnson began in 1973. Colonel Erik L. Dutkiewicz will help present the wreath and provide remarks. President and Mrs. Johnson’s granddaughter, Catherine Robb, will be the keynote speaker.

 

Colonel Erik L. Dutkiewicz serves as the Commander, 502d Security Forces Group, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas. As the installation’s Senior Law Enforcement Executive. Col. Dutkiewicz leads 1,000 law enforcement, security, and legal professionals. His jurisdiction extends across 45,077 acres of Department of Defense properties in the San Anonio area and teams with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to ensure the security of Joint Base San Antonio and its 267 mission partners.  

 

Catherine Robb, daughter of Lynda Johnson Robb and Charles Robb, is one of President Johnson’s seven grandchildren to carry on his legacy. Catherine grew up in Virginia, where her father was elected governor and then U.S. Senator, and then moved to Austin to study at the University of Texas School of Law, earning her degree with honors in 1998. Living in Texas provided the opportunity to be with her beloved grandmother. Catherine recalls spending each Tuesday with Mrs. Johnson, cooking, watching PBS, or reading some of Mrs. Johnson’s favorite books. Today, Catherine Robb is a counsel in the Austin law firm of Haynes and Boone, specializing in media, First Amendment Law and intellectual property litigation. An active Austinite, she currently serves in a variety of capacities including member and chair of the KLRU board (where she also serves on the Austin City Limits Committee) and as a council member for the University of Texas School of Undergraduate Studies and the LBJ School of Public Affairs. Catherine is also the founder, former chairman, and chair emeritus of the LBJ Library Future Forum. Having learned the value of philanthropy from her grandmother, she volunteers for several community non-profits, including Reading is Fundamental of Austin, Trinity Center, and Volunteer Legal Services.

 

To view the wreath-laying ceremony, stop first at the Lyndon B. Johnson State Park to pick up a free vehicle permit and map. The state park visitor center will open at 8:30 am. The LBJ Ranch gate opens at 9:00 am. The Johnson Family Cemetery is located just inside the ranch entrance. Please allow plenty of time to arrive at the cemetery prior to 10:00 am.