Lt. Col. George Walton Webb, P.E.

Published 10:03 pm Saturday, October 20, 2012

George Walton Webb, long-time professor at Tulane University and widower of Dorothy Maness Webb, passed away peacefully at his home in Houston on October 14, 2012. He was 89.

George was born in July 1923 and raised in Uniontown, Alabama. He was the youngest of four children of Robert Leonidas Webb and Ethel Carr Webb. After their deaths, he was raised by his aunt and stepmother Sallie Carr along with her sister Annie Kathleen Carr and brother John Lilburn Carr.

George earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering in 1943 at the University of Alabama, where he was inducted into Tau Beta Pi engineering honor society and Phi Delta Theta fraternity. George was a lifelong fan of Alabama football and was very happy to see Alabama reclaim the national championship this past January.

George served in the U.S. Army in World War II. After completing Engineering Officer Candidate School at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, he served as a lieutenant in the 3061st Engineer Company, first in France and Belgium in the Rhineland Campaign and then in the Luzon Campaign in the Philippines. His wartime decorations included the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with Bronze Star, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with Bronze Star, American Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal and Philippine Liberation Ribbon. After leaving active duty George continued to serve in the Corps of Engineers as part of the Army Reserve, from which he retired in 1983 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He was a member of The Retired Officers Association (now the Military Officers Association of America).

After the war George earned a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering at Columbia University in 1947. He worked for General Electric in New York and New England before becoming a professor of electrical engineering, first at the University of Alabama and then for 37 years at Tulane University in New Orleans. As a professor, he was known for teaching practical courses, especially the electric machinery lab; for his bow ties (since neckties would be dangerous around rotating machinery); and for his somewhat corny jokes, which he would try out on his family at the dinner table before using in class. During his Tulane career George also worked as a consulting engineer for Denson Engineers and later Davies Engineering (now Excel USA) designing electrical systems for industrial structures. He also served as an investigator and expert witness on electrical fires and accidents. George was a registered Professional Engineer in Louisiana and a member of the Louisiana Engineering Society. He was a Senior Life Member of the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers and had been a member of its Power Engineering and Industrial Applications societies.

George retired from Tulane in 1993 and moved with Dorothy to Houston in 1995. He served for several years as a volunteer at the Sgt. Macario Garcia Army Reserve Center. He had a lifelong passion for his workshop and home projects and for puzzles of all kinds, which he continued to enjoy until earlier this year.

George was predeceased by his siblings Robert Leonidas Webb Jr. in California, Jane Fox Webb Powe in Alabama and Charles Carr Webb in Texas; his son-in-law Paul Crist; and his beloved wife Dorothy. He is survived by his daughter Ann Elizabeth Webb and granddaughter Elizabeth Grace Crist in Houston; his son George Walton Webb III and daughter-in-law Susannah Koontz Webb in Houston; and his nephews, grand-nephews and grand-nieces in Texas, Alabama and California. The family extends profound thanks to the staff of CareTemps care agency and Hospice Compassus, who made it possible for George to spend his last months comfortably at home.

George will be buried with military honors at Houston National Cemetery on Friday, October 26, 2012 at 10:00 AM. The family will receive visitors Thursday evening from 5:00 to 8:00 pm at Levy Funeral Directors, 4225 Bissonnet, Bellaire, Texas 77401, (713) 660-6633.

In lieu of flowers, donations in George’s memory may be made to the Consortium on Aging, UT Health Science Center at Houston, 7000 Fannin St, UCT-1703, Houston, Texas 77030, (713) 500-5164, www.uthouston.edu/aging/donors.htm; or to a charity of choice.