Erich Emil Gabrys

Erich was born to Hilda Marie and Emil Gabrys on May 7, 1944, in Detroit, Michigan. He spent his first two years living with his mother and grandparents while his father was stationed at Kelly Field in San Antonio, with the United States Army Air Corps.
In 1946, the entire family was deployed to Furth, Germany during the U.S. occupation. His family lived in a German neighborhood and the living was good, since both his parents spoke fluent German. When the USSR threatened Berlin, the entire family moved back to Texas. Emil was stationed at Bergstrom Air Force Base near Austin, and the family eventually moved to base quarters when they were completed. In 1954, Emil bought a home just outside the base and they lived there until 1963 when Emil retired from the United States Air Force and moved back to Dearborn, Michigan where employment, particularly in the automotive industry, was excellent.
Erich attended the Del Valle School System from the third grade until his graduation in 1962. Erich was an honor student and captain of his football team. He was chosen all district in 1961 and 1962 and was voted area player of the week in 1961 for his defensive efforts in defeating a good Marble Falls team. He also ran the 220 (placed 3rd in his senior year) and on the winning 440 and mile relay teams.
Following graduation, Erich accepted a Naval ROTC scholarship to the University of Minnesota. One week before the beginning of classes, Erich boarded an airplane in Austin and flew alone to Minneapolis. He had never been to Minneapolis but found a cab and asked to be taken to a motel near the university. The next day was Sunday, and with a school map, he found the major buildings. On Monday, he found a fraternity that was renting rooms for $30 per month, and the local church had a full-service cafeteria for $40 per month. After finding food and shelter, the rest was easy.
In June 1966, Erich graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Science Degree that qualified him to teach secondary mathematics, chemistry, and physics and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. After completing The Basic School training (TBS) in Quantico, Virginia, Erich attended the Artillery Officer Basic School at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Following Artillery School, Erich was assigned to Whiskey Battery 1/13 where he served as Fire Direction Officer and later as Executive Officer. Whiskey Battery was initially deployed on Hills 881 and 861 outside of Khe Sanh, Vietnam. Following a brief operation, the battery was then divided between Hill 861 and the main base at Khe Sanh.
Following his Vietnam deployment, Erich returned to The Basic School and served as a Staff Platoon Commander for two companies and later as the M-60 machine gun instructor. He then attended the Artillery Officer Career Course in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. In January 1971, he was assigned as Commanding Officer of Echo Battery 2/12 stationed in Okinawa, Japan. Echo Battery was deployed to Fuji, Japan for three months. He later participated as part of a Battalion Landing Team (BLT) deployment afloat in the South China Sea. In December 1971, Erich resigned his Captain's Commission and enrolled at Southwest Texas State University where he received a Masters in Secondary Education in 1973. It was during this time he met his wife, Alice Pozzi. They were married on July 12, 1975, in Victoria, Texas.
From 1973 through 1978, Erich taught high school physics, chemistry, and mathematics at Rice Consolidated High School for four years and one year at Katy High School before joining Shell Oil Company in Houston, Texas. For the next twenty-three years, he worked in Information Systems at Shell Oil Company, retiring in 2001 as a Senior Consultant. His final assignment from 1995-2001 was the most challenging. He and three other consultants were the first Shell employees to implement the German developed software system, SAP (Systems Analysis Program). SAP is now used as a standard by many companies to perform their purchasing, sales, depreciation, and financial processing. Erich's final two years involved implementing SAP at Shell facilities in the UK, the Netherlands, Australia, and the U.S. This provided Erich with the opportunity to work with consultants from many different countries and to make several trips to the Hague, Netherlands.
His wife Alice, retired in 2006 after working thirty-three years as a kindergarten teacher – a tough tour, but tremendously rewarding. Since retirement, Alice and Erich have been very active in their local church, Guardian Angel Catholic Church, Wallis, Texas; the Wallis American Legion and Erich with the Knights of Columbus, serving two years (2002-2004) as Grand Knight for Council #3793 in Wallis. Always interested in continuing his education, Erich completed his Master of Liberal Arts in 2009, from Houston Baptist University. Alice and Erich currently reside in Fulshear (approximately forty miles west of Houston). Alice and Erich no longer run long distances, but they both remained active cycling, walking, and playing golf two or three times per week until the last few years.
Erich and Alice have also been fortunate to take several extended vacations in the UK in 1995 and 2005. They also toured Italy for two weeks and two years later Spain for two weeks. However: the most enjoyable tour was the water cruise down the Rhine River that included the countries of Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands. In 2016, they were fortunate to take a tour to the Holy Land with their parish priest. Father Thuy, and twenty-four members of the congregation.
Erich continued to serve as the American Legion Post 200 Finance Officer since 2009 and the Bingo Chairman since 2016.
Erich was preceded in death by his parents, Emil and Hilda Gabrys. He is survived by his wife Alice; his brother, Edward Gabrys and wife, Elizabeth; his sister, Wilma Gabrys; nephew, Michael Gabrys and wife, Giovanna; niece, Laura Gabrys Turner and husband, Garrett; sister-in-law, Elizabeth Pozzi and brother-in-law, Richard Pozzi and wife, Bec.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Wallis American Legion Post 200 (P.O. Box 730, Wallis, TX 77485) or Guardian Angel Catholic Church (P.O. Box 487, Wallis, TX 77485).