Douglas Neal Travers

1928 - 2024

Douglas Neal Travers

1928 ~ 2024

Douglas Neal Travers born 27 June 1928 in San Antonio, Texas, passed away at the age of 95 on 20 June 2024 surrounded by family at his home in San Antonio. Doug will be remembered for his love of family, his accomplishments in radio science and engineering, his passion for finding natural arches in Utah, and his avid desire to learn.

Doug and his late wife Mary (Dorgan) Travers have seven children along with many beloved grandchildren and great-grandchildren. They are: Margaret Lynn (Travers) Ferris and husband Walt Ferris who have five children; the late Joseph Douglas Travers (deceased 2023) and wife Elaine; Susan Mary Travers who has three daughters; Judy Ann (Travers) Cooley who has two children; David Anthony Travers and wife Cindy who have two children; Roderick Neal Travers and wife Lori who have two daughters; and Roy Michael Travers and wife Annette who have two daughters.

Doug was the son of Joseph Douglas Travers of Connecticut and Mildred Neal of Texas. He grew up on the Neal family dairy farm in San Antonio and later in Los Angeles, California, and in New York, where his father worked in motion pictures. He attended John Hopkins University where he earned a degree in electrical engineering.

Doug and Mary were married in Sacred Heart Parish, Bayside, New York, on September 23, 1950, and they lived in San Antonio after June 1951 when Doug began working for Southwest Research Institute. There he and his team invented and earned patents for groundbreaking radio direction finding antennas and scanning methods. He eventually led the Electromagnetics Division as Vice President until his retirement in 1994, after which he served as a consultant to the Institute.

Doug had many hobbies including genealogy, science fiction, photography, jazz, and playing the piano. However, none was more captivating than his passion for discovering and cataloging natural arches in Arches National Park near Moab, Utah. Over the course of more than four decades, he visited the park dozens of times, discovering many previously unknown arches and documenting hundreds more. A touchscreen kiosk with his arch database is in the park's visitor's center. His children and grandchildren accompanied him on some of his arch-hunting expeditions, and his love of the desert southwest carries on through them.

Visitation will begin on Thursday, June 27, 2024 at 6:00 P.M. in The Angelus Chapel with a Rosary to be recited at 7:00 P.M. Funeral Mass will be offered on Friday, June 28, 2024 at 9:00 A.M. in the Immaculate Conception Memorial Chapel, located on the grounds of the Oblate School of Theology, 285 Oblate Dr. Interment will follow in Mission Burial Park South.

Memorial donations may be made to the Oblate School of Theology, 285 Oblate Drive, San Antonio, TX, 78216-6693. Arrangements by The Angelus Funeral Home, 1119 N. St. Mary's St., San Antonio, Texas 78215. (210) 227-1461.

www.theangelusfuneralhome.com