"Art. 277. (315). Office Vacant: When and How Filled. His office becomes vacant whenever the Worshipful Master:
1. Is elected and installed as Grand Master or Deputy Grand Master; or
2. Dies after he is installed; or
3. Is found disqualified, or fails from any cause to be installed within the time prescribed by Law, and the person filling the office
for the previous year has been installed in another office; or
4. When the Worshipful Master has been removed by the Grand Master or the Grand Lodge, the Grand Master shall notify
the Grand Secretary, and shall inform the affected subordinate Lodge of such action. Such action of removal shall prohibit recognition
of such individual as a Past Master and preclude such individual from the rights and privileges pertaining thereto.
(Revised 1997)
In any such case the Senior Warden (or the Junior Warden, if the office of Senior Warden is also vacant) shall succeed to all the
duties of the office.
If a Worshipful Master, after being duly installed, dies during the term of his office, and if he is not suspended or under charges
at the time of his death, he shall be classified and recorded as a Past Master of his Lodge."
Short answer: A WM must either serve his full term without being either suspended or under charges or must die in office
without being either suspended or under charges in order to earn the status of Past Master. He does not "simultaneously become a Past Master upon becoming a Worshipful Master in Texas."
