Freestone County, Texas
Obits


Houston Chronicle newspaper - Saturday 08/28/2004 edition

WHITE

ROBERT (BOB) CHARLES WHITE, 81, died at Clear Lake Regional Medical Center on
Thursday, August 26, 2004 after a lengthy illness. He was born on January 27, 
1923 to Edith Mae Downen and Charles Henry White in Rich Hill, Missouri. 
Moving to Lafayette, Louisiana to attend Southwestern Louisiana Institute, he
enlisted in the U.S. Navy to serve his country during WWII. From 1943 - 1946, 
he was stationed in the South Pacific as a fire control man aboard the USS KM 
Willett, DE#354. Following the war, he returned to school where he met and 
married Alice Rae Oge in 1947 and subsequently graduated with a Bachelor of 
Science degree in electrical engineering in 1949. 

The couple moved to Houston, Texas in 1951, where Bob worked for Southern 
Pacific Railroad and served as a second lieutenant in the 719th Transportation
Railway Operating Battalion of the 90th Infantry Division Reserves. In 1954,
he began his career in electrical engineering, working with such companies as 
Bernard Johnson, Shell Oil Co., Tellepsen and Petrotex. He joined Brown & Root
Inc. in 1962, and remained with the firm for 23 years until his retirement in
1985. He considered his greatest professional accomplishments his role as the 
design engineer for the Champion Paper Mills and as project engineer for "Big 
Brown", the first commercial lignite burning power plant in Texas, built in 
Fairfield in 1972. Bob was a member of Texas Professional Engineers and 
Professional Engineers of North Carolina. He was a charter member of the 
Pasadena Little Theater and the Clear Creek Association of Retired Teachers. 

Upon retirement, Bob and Alice traveled extensively throughout the United 
States, Europe and Ireland, enjoying Elderhostel adventures. He was a skilled
woodworker and created many unique pieces for his family. There was not an
engine or contraption the he could not repair or restore. A product of the 
Great Depression, Bob was a natural conservationist and recycler. 

Above all else, Bob was a family man. As a young man, he aspired to head a 
family of six children and he achieved that goal. He put the needs of this 
brood above all other pursuits and was proud that each of his children earned 
college degrees. He and Alice celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary this
month and have joyously participated in the lives of 16 special grandchildren. 

Bob is survived by his wife, Alice Rae Oge; children, Cheryl Johnigan and 
husband Richard, Robert Charles (Bob) White Jr. and wife Sharon, Vicki Hudson 
and husband Ron, Tom White and wife, Janice, Tim White, Emily Warner and 
husband Richard; grandchildren: Richard Johnigan and wife Brie, Robert 
Johnigan and wife Liz Johnigan, Julie Johnigan, Rachel, Eric and Erin White, 
Sarah Hudson, Kyle and Spencer White, Brian and Blake Aston, Tim, Kenny and 
Lindsey White, and Robyn and Rusty Warner. A sister, Betty White Hopkins of 
Monroe, Louisiana, also survives him. 

The Liturgy of the Vigil will be held from 5-7 p.m. Sunday, August 29, 2004 
with a service at 6 p.m. at Crowder Funeral Home, Webster, Texas. The Mass of 
Resurrection is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday, August 30, 2004 at St. Clare of 
Assisi located in Clear Lake, Texas. The Liturgy of Committal will follow at 
10 a.m. Tuesday, August 31, at St. Charles Cemetery in Grand Coteau, 
Louisiana.