Sam Sparks

Sam Sparks (born 1939) is a senior United States district judge of the Austin Division of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. Early life After graduating from Austin High School as senior class president, Sparks received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas in 1961 where he was a member of the Texas Cowboys and the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. He earned a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Texas School of Law two years later. He clerked for United States District Court Judge Homer Thornberry before turning to private practice. Family His great-grandfather and his grandfather were also named Sam Sparks; the former was sheriff of Bell County, Texas, and the latter succeeded him in 1897. This Sam Sparks became president of the Texas Sheriff's Association in 1903 and the Texas state treasurer in 1906. He was married to Arden Reed Sparks, until she died in 1990. He married his second wife, Melinda Echols, formerly of Fort Worth, in 1995.