Robert P. Scripps

Robert P. ScrippsRobert P. 'Bob' Scripps, beloved father, grand-father and great-grandfather, died of natural causes on October 18, 2012 at his home in Fredericksburg, Texas, surrounded by his family. He was 94 years old.Bob made his principal career as a farmer. Farming was literally in his blood. His grandfather, E.W. Scripps, and his brother, also farmed the land. Bob was certainly not known as a 'gentleman farmer.' Those who had visited him in Texas knew they would not find him supervising a crew of field hands from the air-conditioned seat of a Lincoln Continental. The tall, husky fellow striding across dusty furrows in baggy, sweat-stained khakis and a straw cowboy hat, or working on his farm machinery ' that was how Bob was known. Bob was drafted as a private in the Army infantry in 1941. Within days of the attack on Pearl Harbor, he shipped out of San Francisco for Hawaii, then on to Guadalcanal, eventually serving in the Georgia Islands, the Solomon Islands and the Philippines. He was on a troop ship bound for home when the first atomic bomb was dropped. Bob went back to farming immediately after being discharged from the Army. His first crop turned a nice profit. His uncle, Ed Culbertson, an oil man in West Texas, discovered artesian water while drilling for oil and prevailed upon Bob to join him in a project to irrigate the arid plains and raise cotton. Unfortunately, the wells produced sulfur water and the artesian venture failed, though the discovery eventually became one of the Duval Sulfur Mines.The desert and rocky hills around Pecos, Texas appealed and challenged Bob. He developed an irrigation system, and later became a commercial beekeeper. He also set up a small machine shop and iron foundry where he built several steam engine boats and two paddle-wheel steam boats. In his later years, he raised peaches and plums and enjoyed watching the many exotic deer that grazed on his ranch in Fredericksburg.Bob served as a director of The E. W. Scripps Company from 1949 until 1997, and was a long-time vice chairman of The Edward W. Scripps Trust. He was also a Trustee Emeritus of the Scripps Howard Foundation.Scripps was preceded in death by his wife of 58 years, Mariana Rocha and a son, Henry Scripps. He is survived by his children, Rebecca (Jeff) Brickner, Robert Scripps, Jr., William (Luz Maria) Scripps, Corina (Ray) Granado, Margaret (Gary) Klenzing, Adam Scripps, Mary Ann (George) Sanchez, all of Fredericksburg, Jimmy (June) Scripps of Fredonia, Eve (Sam) Attal of Colorado and Virginia (Feliciano) Vasquez of Spring Branch. He is also survived by 34 grandchildren and 37 great-grandchildren. A private memorial to celebrate his life will take place early next year. The family suggests that donations be made to The HCM Rehab Center, Attn. Kelly Dooley, RN, 1006 South State Hwy. 16, Fredericksburg, Texas 78624 or The Scripps Howard Foundation, P.O. Box 634568, Cincinnati, OH 45263, http://www.scripps.com/foundation/about/contribute.htmlOr Admiral Nimitz Foundation, 328 East Main St., Fredericksburg TX 78624 or Boot Scooting for a Cause, go to austincommunityfoundation.org, 4315 Guadalupe St. Suite 300, Austin TX 78751.