John Melcher

John Melcher

John V. Melcher, 72, died Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2008 at home surrounded by his loving family after a courageous battle with prostate cancer.

John was born in El Campo in 1936. John graduated from El Campo High School in 1955 where he was captain of the football and basketball teams, a member of Student Council and National Honor Society, attended Boys State and was a class favorite and class president. He was a freshman at Texas A&M and graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1959, BS in Geological Engineering, after which he served in the U.S. Army at Fort Hood in the Artillery O.C.S. and in Korea as a First Lieutenant.

In 1962 he joined Pan American Petroleum Co. (Amoco) in Beaumont as a petroleum production engineer in the Spindletop Field and then in the Houston reservoir section. In 1967 he joined Houston National Bank as Asst. Vice President in the petroleum department and in 1971 was promoted to vice president. He retired in 1984 after nine years with Enterprise Products Co., an independent L.P. gas wholesaler, as vice chairman of the board and chief financial officer, to farm rice in Wharton County and to continue with oil and gas exploration in Refugio County until his death.

John was a director of Sunbelt National Bank in Houston, and Chairman of the Board and President of Enterprise Aviation Co. which managed corporate aircraft with an air charter service. He was an elder in the Presbyterian Church, past president of the Key Allegro Property Owners Assn., was a board member of the Rockport Art Center and a volunteer for the Texas Maritime Museum.

He was on the Aransas County Financial Advisory Committee and the State of Texas Water Well Advisory Commission. He was a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and a registered professional engineer in the State of Texas.

John loved fishing and hunting and bare boat sailing in the Grenadine and Caribbean Islands. He even played a little golf and he loved Rockport, Texas, and its wonderful caring people. He will be remembered for his engaging smile and wonderful sense of humor. He loved life.S

urvivors include his mother, Dorothy Hill Melcher of Rockport; his high school sweetheart of 51 years, Nancy Thompson Melcher; daughter and son-in-law, Kim and Dr. Andy Anderson and grandson, Chase; son and daughter-inlaw, John Jr. and Tracey and grandchildren, Tripp and Holly; sister-in-law, Kay Stanley and nieces, Sherri Stanley and Shawn McLallen; sister-in-law, Barbara Melcher and nephew, Rick Melcher and niece, Vicki Melcher; and his two faithful boxer dogs, Peaches and Sissy.

He was preceded in death by his father, Fred W. Melcher; and brother, Fred Melcher Jr.

The family would like to thank their many friends, AIM Hospice, and M.D. Anderson for their kindnesses, love and care.

A Memorial service will be today, Saturday, Feb. 16 at 3:30 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, Rockport, Texas. A reception will follow the service at Rockport Country Club.