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- Early on the morning of July 11th, 2012, Amond Douglas Brownlow (most knew him as Doug or Douglas), passed away. His wife Edna (formerly Edna Johns) of more than 55 years, was holding his hand as he began his second great journey.
His first journey began with his birth in Floresville, Texas on September 2nd, 1934. His mother was Theresa Brownlow (formerly Theresa Ball of Elmendorf, Texas) and his father was Amond Brownlow. He was their only child. Douglas grew up in the small community of Saspamco, Texas, where his mother was a schoolteacher and postmaster and his father, Amond, worked for the pipe manufacturing company which forms the name Saspamco (San Antonio Sewer Pipe and Manufacturing Company).
Living in the "company house" which doubled as the post office, times were challenging for everyone as the family weathered the great depression and World War II. The banks of the San Antonio River and Calaveras Creek were Doug's playground. His closest friends included several of the Johns' boys (Francis and Lester), Joe Lydell Tackitt, Jr., and Travis Mumme (currently of Taft, Texas). Tragically, in 1948, when Douglas was just 14 years old, a car accident in San Antonio claimed his mother Theresa and gravely injured his father, Amond. During the recovery of his father, Douglas moved to Floresville where he lived with his aunt and at the age of 15, graduated from Floresville High School in 1950. After graduation, being so young, his father felt Doug would benefit from a few years at a small local university before going off to college Doug enrolled in Schreiner Institute in Kerrville, Texas (now Schreiner College). In 1952, having just turned 18, Doug was off to Texas A&I in Kingsville, Texas. In May of 1956, he graduated with a B.S. Degree in Chemical Engineering. It was during the weekend trips home from both Kerrville and Kingsville, that Douglas met the love of his life, Edna Johns.
Edna was the youngest daughter of Bruno and Edith Johns and younger sister to Doug's best friends Lester and Francis. Shortly after Doug's graduation from A&I, he and Edna were married on June 22nd, 1957, in St. Anthony's Catholic Church, in Elmendorf, Texas. The young couple's first house was in Rivera, Texas, on the banks of Baffin Bay, just south of Kingsville, Texas. Doug was working as a junior engineer for a chemical company, producing sea salt from the highly saline waters of Baffin Bay. In 1958, Doug and Edna packed up and moved to Houston with Doug working for Dixie Chemical Company. Shortly thereafter, their first son, Jeffrey was born. Their second son Mark, followed in 1959. Late 1960, found the family of four moving from Houston to Bartlesville, Oklahoma, where Doug worked as an engineer for the U.S. Bureau of Mines.
Two more Brownlow boys were introduced to the world, Kevin in 1962, and Darrell, in 1964. While Oklahoma had certainly been good to the young family, their hearts were back in Texas. Doug's in-laws (Bruno and Edith Johns) also wanted their daughter and new grandkids home, so as an incentive, they agreed to sell to Doug & Edna a small tract of sand covered land on the edge of a peanut field along US 181 in northern Wilson County. In 1965, when an engineering position opened up in San Antonio at Southwest Research Institute (SWRI), the family of six, began planning their return. While living temporarily in a small home in San Antonio near the Institute, Doug & Edna contracted a home builder and water well driller and by 1968, their four boys had a new home and a backyard where they could hunt and fish to their hearts content. In early 1969, as a "housewarming" present, Edna gave Doug his fifth and final son, Collen.
It is remarkable to think that in just slightly over 20 years, young Douglas, an only child, who had nearly been orphaned, was now the father of five boys. Just as remarkable was how the situation had changed for Doug's father Amond, who now had five grandsons.
Doug worked for Southwest Research Institute for nearly 30 years, retiring in 1996. He accomplished many things and had many professional successes. He developed expertise in the field of automotive engines, fuels and lubricants technology. He traveled across the world to oversee engineering projects and perform research, and along the way he developed many friendships. He participated in and was actively involved in many local organizations including the Wilson County Republican Party, the Texas Farm Bureau, the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, and for several years was Governor George W. Bush's appointee to the Evergreen Underground Water Conservation District.
His accomplishments are many and the details could fill volumes. However, here are the most important ones: He was kind and forgiving. He was gentle and polite. He was courteous to women and respectful to men. He did not see color. He did not measure people by their wealth or lack thereof. He was selfless and would give the proverbial "shirt off his back" to help someone in need, and he did many times. He was passionate in his beliefs but measured in his actions. He loved his dad and his mom. He believed in God and supported his Church. Like his own dad, he sacrificed much to make sure his boys had every opportunity, and he was always there for them. He taught his sons how to work cattle and build fence at their ranch in Millet, as well as how to hunt and shoot guns. He especially loved saltwater fishing and instilled that same love for the sea in all of his boys. He also loved his blue heeler dogs. As much as actually doing things, he loved equally writing about all the things he did. But more than anything, he loved his wife.
Doug is survived by his wife Edna, their five sons, three daughter in-laws, two grandsons, five granddaughters, one step granddaughter, one step grandson, and one great granddaughter, and two blue heelers.
Visitation began at 5:00 P.M. Thursday, and a rosary was recited at 7:00 P.M. Thursday, July 12, 2012, at Vinyard Funeral Home, Floresville. The Funeral Mass was celebrated at 9:00 A.M. Friday, July 13, 2012, at St. Anthony's Catholic Church, Elmendorf, followed by interment at St. Anthony's Cemetery, Elmendorf, Texas. Serving as pallbearers were Zachary Forrest Rhodes, Dustin Travis Brownlow, Joshua Wayne Brownlow, Travis Mumme, Richard "Bucky" Ball, and Keith Brownlow.
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1934 - 2012 (77 years)
