Langfitt Bowditch (Bun) Wilby passed away on Sunday, September 6, 2009 at Poydras Home in New Orleans.
He was born on October 7, 1912 in Quarters #10, Fort Leslie J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the son of Major General Francis B., and Dorothy Langfitt Wilby.
He graduated from the Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1930.
He received an appointment to West Point in 1931, and entered that year with the Class of 1935.
After graduating from the Military Academy and receiving his regular army commission, he was assigned to the Field Artillery at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
Shortly thereafter he transferred to the Corps of Engineers and was assigned as a Battalion Stable Officer with the 2nd Engineers at Ft. Logan, Colorado, an old frontier post.
One of his assignments there was to take one of the last horse drawn wagon trains in the U.S. army (complete with heavy-drinking mule skinners) on maneuvers to Cheyenne, Wyoming.
In 1938 he received his Masters in Civil Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley, and was nominated to the National Honorary Scientific Society, Sigma Xi on the merits of his thesis on Fluid Flow in Open Channels.
His love affair with Louisiana began when he was assigned to the 2nd New Orleans Engineer District in 1938.
It was there that he met his future wife, Routh Trowbridge from Franklin, whom he married in 1941 while serving in Puerto Rico.
In March 1942, he was assigned to the 81st Infantry (Fighting Wildcat) Division where he would serve throughout the war, participating in amphibious and combat operations at Angar and Pelilieu, and mop up operations on Leyte. In September of 1945, he landed in Tokyo and was put in charge of unloading a backlog of 183 ships waiting in Tokyo Harbor.
In 1946-48, he supervised the reconstruction of Misawa Airbase at the northern tip of Honshu Island in Japan, a base still in use to this day. In the post-war period he had various command and staff assignments with the Corps of Engineers in New Orleans, Idaho, Washington State, Upstate New York, Virginia, and Japan. In 1958, he returned from Japan to Vicksburg, Mississippi, where he became Secretary of the Mississippi River Commission until 1960.
His final 3 years of military service were spent as a Professor of Military Science at Rice University in Houston, where he retired as a Colonel after 28 years of service in 1963.
He subsequently joined Brown & Root in Houston where he wrote the project management manual for the design of offshore oil platforms, and served as a Special Assistant to the President until retiring again in 1977.
After consulting for BR for another 2 years, he fully retired in 1979. Since 1979, his great loves have been family, the community, and sailing.
He sailed his boat regularly on Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico and brought it over to Cypremort Point when he and Routh sold the house in Texas and moved to Dixie Plantation in Franklin in 1986. While in Franklin,
in 1991, he was a founder of the St. Mary Literacy Council which addressed the issue of adult illiteracy in the community.
He was a past President of the Southwest Civic Club in Houston, and was active with both Boy and Girl Scout Troops there.
He was also an active member of his church, and served on the vestry of both Palmer Episcopal Church in Houston, and St Mary's in Franklin.
He is survived by 4 Children, his sister-in-law, 7 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.
The family would like to extend special thanks to Mrs. Shirley Chatman, Poydras Home, and all of his other loving care-givers at Dixie over the past few years.
The family requests that visiting hours be observed Wednesday, September 9, 2009 from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Franklin.
A service will begin at 11:30 AM at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Franklin.
Interment with military honors will follow the service in the Franklin Cemetery.
The family will receive family and friends at home at Dixie after interment.
Donations may be made in lieu of flowers to St. Mary's Episcopal Church.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Ibert's Mortuary of Franklin.
Houston Chronicle, Wed., Sept. 9, 2009.
He was born on October 7, 1912 in Quarters #10, Fort Leslie J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the son of Major General Francis B., and Dorothy Langfitt Wilby.
He graduated from the Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1930.
He received an appointment to West Point in 1931, and entered that year with the Class of 1935.
After graduating from the Military Academy and receiving his regular army commission, he was assigned to the Field Artillery at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
Shortly thereafter he transferred to the Corps of Engineers and was assigned as a Battalion Stable Officer with the 2nd Engineers at Ft. Logan, Colorado, an old frontier post.
One of his assignments there was to take one of the last horse drawn wagon trains in the U.S. army (complete with heavy-drinking mule skinners) on maneuvers to Cheyenne, Wyoming.
In 1938 he received his Masters in Civil Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley, and was nominated to the National Honorary Scientific Society, Sigma Xi on the merits of his thesis on Fluid Flow in Open Channels.
His love affair with Louisiana began when he was assigned to the 2nd New Orleans Engineer District in 1938.
It was there that he met his future wife, Routh Trowbridge from Franklin, whom he married in 1941 while serving in Puerto Rico.
In March 1942, he was assigned to the 81st Infantry (Fighting Wildcat) Division where he would serve throughout the war, participating in amphibious and combat operations at Angar and Pelilieu, and mop up operations on Leyte. In September of 1945, he landed in Tokyo and was put in charge of unloading a backlog of 183 ships waiting in Tokyo Harbor.
In 1946-48, he supervised the reconstruction of Misawa Airbase at the northern tip of Honshu Island in Japan, a base still in use to this day. In the post-war period he had various command and staff assignments with the Corps of Engineers in New Orleans, Idaho, Washington State, Upstate New York, Virginia, and Japan. In 1958, he returned from Japan to Vicksburg, Mississippi, where he became Secretary of the Mississippi River Commission until 1960.
His final 3 years of military service were spent as a Professor of Military Science at Rice University in Houston, where he retired as a Colonel after 28 years of service in 1963.
He subsequently joined Brown & Root in Houston where he wrote the project management manual for the design of offshore oil platforms, and served as a Special Assistant to the President until retiring again in 1977.
After consulting for BR for another 2 years, he fully retired in 1979. Since 1979, his great loves have been family, the community, and sailing.
He sailed his boat regularly on Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico and brought it over to Cypremort Point when he and Routh sold the house in Texas and moved to Dixie Plantation in Franklin in 1986. While in Franklin,
in 1991, he was a founder of the St. Mary Literacy Council which addressed the issue of adult illiteracy in the community.
He was a past President of the Southwest Civic Club in Houston, and was active with both Boy and Girl Scout Troops there.
He was also an active member of his church, and served on the vestry of both Palmer Episcopal Church in Houston, and St Mary's in Franklin.
He is survived by 4 Children, his sister-in-law, 7 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.
The family would like to extend special thanks to Mrs. Shirley Chatman, Poydras Home, and all of his other loving care-givers at Dixie over the past few years.
The family requests that visiting hours be observed Wednesday, September 9, 2009 from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Franklin.
A service will begin at 11:30 AM at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Franklin.
Interment with military honors will follow the service in the Franklin Cemetery.
The family will receive family and friends at home at Dixie after interment.
Donations may be made in lieu of flowers to St. Mary's Episcopal Church.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Ibert's Mortuary of Franklin.
Houston Chronicle, Wed., Sept. 9, 2009.
Langfitt Bowditch (Bun) Wilby passed away on Sunday, September 6, 2009 at Poydras Home in New Orleans.
He was born on October 7, 1912 in Quarters #10, Fort Leslie J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the son of Major General Francis B., and Dorothy Langfitt Wilby.
He graduated from the Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1930.
He received an appointment to West Point in 1931, and entered that year with the Class of 1935.
After graduating from the Military Academy and receiving his regular army commission, he was assigned to the Field Artillery at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
Shortly thereafter he transferred to the Corps of Engineers and was assigned as a Battalion Stable Officer with the 2nd Engineers at Ft. Logan, Colorado, an old frontier post.
One of his assignments there was to take one of the last horse drawn wagon trains in the U.S. army (complete with heavy-drinking mule skinners) on maneuvers to Cheyenne, Wyoming.
In 1938 he received his Masters in Civil Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley, and was nominated to the National Honorary Scientific Society, Sigma Xi on the merits of his thesis on Fluid Flow in Open Channels.
His love affair with Louisiana began when he was assigned to the 2nd New Orleans Engineer District in 1938.
It was there that he met his future wife, Routh Trowbridge from Franklin, whom he married in 1941 while serving in Puerto Rico.
In March 1942, he was assigned to the 81st Infantry (Fighting Wildcat) Division where he would serve throughout the war, participating in amphibious and combat operations at Angar and Pelilieu, and mop up operations on Leyte. In September of 1945, he landed in Tokyo and was put in charge of unloading a backlog of 183 ships waiting in Tokyo Harbor.
In 1946-48, he supervised the reconstruction of Misawa Airbase at the northern tip of Honshu Island in Japan, a base still in use to this day. In the post-war period he had various command and staff assignments with the Corps of Engineers in New Orleans, Idaho, Washington State, Upstate New York, Virginia, and Japan. In 1958, he returned from Japan to Vicksburg, Mississippi, where he became Secretary of the Mississippi River Commission until 1960.
His final 3 years of military service were spent as a Professor of Military Science at Rice University in Houston, where he retired as a Colonel after 28 years of service in 1963.
He subsequently joined Brown & Root in Houston where he wrote the project management manual for the design of offshore oil platforms, and served as a Special Assistant to the President until retiring again in 1977.
After consulting for BR for another 2 years, he fully retired in 1979. Since 1979, his great loves have been family, the community, and sailing.
He sailed his boat regularly on Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico and brought it over to Cypremort Point when he and Routh sold the house in Texas and moved to Dixie Plantation in Franklin in 1986. While in Franklin,
in 1991, he was a founder of the St. Mary Literacy Council which addressed the issue of adult illiteracy in the community.
He was a past President of the Southwest Civic Club in Houston, and was active with both Boy and Girl Scout Troops there.
He was also an active member of his church, and served on the vestry of both Palmer Episcopal Church in Houston, and St Mary's in Franklin.
He is survived by 4 Children, his sister-in-law, 7 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.
The family would like to extend special thanks to Mrs. Shirley Chatman, Poydras Home, and all of his other loving care-givers at Dixie over the past few years.
The family requests that visiting hours be observed Wednesday, September 9, 2009 from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Franklin.
A service will begin at 11:30 AM at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Franklin.
Interment with military honors will follow the service in the Franklin Cemetery.
The family will receive family and friends at home at Dixie after interment.
Donations may be made in lieu of flowers to St. Mary's Episcopal Church.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Ibert's Mortuary of Franklin.
Houston Chronicle, Wed., Sept. 9, 2009.
He was born on October 7, 1912 in Quarters #10, Fort Leslie J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the son of Major General Francis B., and Dorothy Langfitt Wilby.
He graduated from the Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1930.
He received an appointment to West Point in 1931, and entered that year with the Class of 1935.
After graduating from the Military Academy and receiving his regular army commission, he was assigned to the Field Artillery at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
Shortly thereafter he transferred to the Corps of Engineers and was assigned as a Battalion Stable Officer with the 2nd Engineers at Ft. Logan, Colorado, an old frontier post.
One of his assignments there was to take one of the last horse drawn wagon trains in the U.S. army (complete with heavy-drinking mule skinners) on maneuvers to Cheyenne, Wyoming.
In 1938 he received his Masters in Civil Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley, and was nominated to the National Honorary Scientific Society, Sigma Xi on the merits of his thesis on Fluid Flow in Open Channels.
His love affair with Louisiana began when he was assigned to the 2nd New Orleans Engineer District in 1938.
It was there that he met his future wife, Routh Trowbridge from Franklin, whom he married in 1941 while serving in Puerto Rico.
In March 1942, he was assigned to the 81st Infantry (Fighting Wildcat) Division where he would serve throughout the war, participating in amphibious and combat operations at Angar and Pelilieu, and mop up operations on Leyte. In September of 1945, he landed in Tokyo and was put in charge of unloading a backlog of 183 ships waiting in Tokyo Harbor.
In 1946-48, he supervised the reconstruction of Misawa Airbase at the northern tip of Honshu Island in Japan, a base still in use to this day. In the post-war period he had various command and staff assignments with the Corps of Engineers in New Orleans, Idaho, Washington State, Upstate New York, Virginia, and Japan. In 1958, he returned from Japan to Vicksburg, Mississippi, where he became Secretary of the Mississippi River Commission until 1960.
His final 3 years of military service were spent as a Professor of Military Science at Rice University in Houston, where he retired as a Colonel after 28 years of service in 1963.
He subsequently joined Brown & Root in Houston where he wrote the project management manual for the design of offshore oil platforms, and served as a Special Assistant to the President until retiring again in 1977.
After consulting for BR for another 2 years, he fully retired in 1979. Since 1979, his great loves have been family, the community, and sailing.
He sailed his boat regularly on Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico and brought it over to Cypremort Point when he and Routh sold the house in Texas and moved to Dixie Plantation in Franklin in 1986. While in Franklin,
in 1991, he was a founder of the St. Mary Literacy Council which addressed the issue of adult illiteracy in the community.
He was a past President of the Southwest Civic Club in Houston, and was active with both Boy and Girl Scout Troops there.
He was also an active member of his church, and served on the vestry of both Palmer Episcopal Church in Houston, and St Mary's in Franklin.
He is survived by 4 Children, his sister-in-law, 7 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.
The family would like to extend special thanks to Mrs. Shirley Chatman, Poydras Home, and all of his other loving care-givers at Dixie over the past few years.
The family requests that visiting hours be observed Wednesday, September 9, 2009 from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Franklin.
A service will begin at 11:30 AM at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Franklin.
Interment with military honors will follow the service in the Franklin Cemetery.
The family will receive family and friends at home at Dixie after interment.
Donations may be made in lieu of flowers to St. Mary's Episcopal Church.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Ibert's Mortuary of Franklin.
Houston Chronicle, Wed., Sept. 9, 2009.
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