Robert Nathanie Douglas

Robert Nathaniel "Bob" Douglas was born in Henrietta, Clay County, Texas, on September 18, 1918, and departed this life on July 16, 2003, having been a resident of Corpus Christi for almost sixty years. He graduated from Henrietta High School in 1936 and qualified for an amateur radio license that year. He was employed by radio station KDNT in Denton, Texas, where he met Hallye Kines, of Terrell, Texas. They were married on January 20, 1940, in Fort Worth, Texas. Following radio broadcasting as a profession, Bob worked at KWFT in Wichita Falls, Texas, and KTSM and KROD in El Paso, Texas. He served as a radio officer with Pan American Airways and Alcoa Steamship Lines for a period during World War II and also served as a civilian instructor in radio maintenance for the USAF in San Antonio until enlisting in the US Navy in 1944. After training at Wright Junior College in Chicago and the University of Houston, Bob was assigned to the Navy electronics school at Ward Island, Corpus Christi, and after training was made an instructor in radar, radio navigation, and electronic theory. Upon his honorable discharge from the Navy in 1946 Bob was employed in Corpus Christi as a salesman for a newly formed company, Electronic Equipment and Engineering Company ("Triple E"), and served in several capacities during the twenty-one years the company was in existence, including Vice-President, Executive Vice-President, and General Manager. When "Triple E" was sold in 1967, Bob founded Douglas Electronics which operated under his ownership until the business was sold to family in 1976. Bob remained with the company for a number of years in an advisory and technical capacity before retiring fully after almost forty years in the electronics business. Bob was a lifelong Methodist and has been a member of Saint Luke's United Methodist Church since 1953 where he served several terms as a Board Member and as Church School Superintendent and Education Commission Chairman. He also served as a Trustee and on the Finance Commission of Saint Luke's. Electronic industry affiliations include Life Memberships in the Electronic Industry VIP Club, Past President of the South Texas Chapter of the National Electronics Distributors Association and a member of the Electronics Distributors Research Institute. A yachting enthusiast, Bob was a member of the Corpus Christi Yacht Club for many years, serving on several committees and participating in competitive yacht racing. Amateur Radio was a consuming interest since Bob's first license in 1936 when he was assigned the call letters of W5GEL. He was made a Life Member of the American Radio Relay League in 1971. In 1956, Bob was elected to membership in the prestigious First Class Operator's Club (FOC) which is a limited membership by invitation only international group based in London, England, with only 500 members worldwide. In 1976, he was elected to membership in the Royal Navy Amateur Radio Society and was inducted by the executive officer of the H.M.S. Intrepid when the ship visited Corpus Christi during the bi-centennial year. In 1980, he attended ceremonies at the Society headquarters aboard the H.M.S. Belfast which is permanently berthed in the Thames River in London. Bob was among the first American amateur radio operators to qualify for member in the DX Century Club and to be awarded a WAZ certificate, awards for communicating with amateurs in foreign countries. Bob held Life Membership in the Amateur Radio Satellite Corporation, pioneering in radio amateur communications through the OSCAR (Orbiting Satellites Carrying Amateur Radio) Program. In 1991 he was appointed the central United States satellite ground station to communicate with the space shuttle under the SARAX (Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment) Program, a joint effort of the American Radio Relay League, the Amateur Radio Satellite Corporation, and NASA. Bob's ground station connected with the space shuttles as they passed within range and by using a telephone connection, provided an opportunity for students at pre-arranged schools to talk directly with the astronauts aboard the shuttle missions. Bob was given official recognition by NASA, AMSAT, and ARRL for providing this service. Bob was a Charter Member and first President of the Coastal Bend Chapter of the Quarter Century Wireless Association and a member of the national organization since 1970. Bob has served on the boards of the Corpus Christi Amateur Radio Club and the South Texas Repeater Club. He was also given official recognition for volunteer emergency communications work on amateur frequencies by being awarded Public Service Award Certificates by the American Radio Relay League for work performed during the Texas City disaster in 1947, Hurricane Carla in 1961, and Hurricane Celia in 1970. Family includes daughter, Kay Jackson (Tom) of Houston, Texas, and granddaughters Arden McLean (Cliff) of San Antonio, Texas and Kate Potter (Watson) of Houston, Texas. Great-grandchildren include Sarah and Tommy McLean of San Antonio, Texas. Also surviving is sister Faye Michaels of Houston, Texas, nieces Betty Harris of Austin, Texas, Karen Barber of Sherman, Texas, and nephew Dr. Douglas Michaels of Waco, Texas. Bob's beloved wife of 63 years, Hallye, preceded him in death in January of 2003, as did his son, Robert Scott, in January of 1970. The family will receive visitors on Friday, July 18, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Seaside Memorial Funeral Home. Funeral Services will be held at Saint Luke's United Methodist Church on Saturday, July 19, 2003 at 1:00 p.m. Interment will follow at Seaside Memorial Park. Pallbearers include Tom Jackson, Cliff McLean, Watson Potter, Doug Michaels, Larry Couser and Mark Mireles. Honorary pall bearers are members of the South Texas Amateur Radio Club. In lieu of flowers, the family wishes memorials to be made in Bob's memory to Saint Luke's United Methodist Church, 3151 Reid Drive, Corpus Christi, Texas, 78404.