Roger Detman

Kerrville Roger Detman was born March 3rd, 1917 in New York. He graduated from Columbia High School, Columbia, MS in 1934. The school motto was: Lives are measured by actions, not years. Roger died from cancer in the early morning of Tuesday, June 12, 2007. At the age of 90, his years were considerable, but the actions of his life were likewise considerable. Following college he worked for the Humble Oil and Refining Co., in Baytown, Texas where he met and later married Martha Brinkley of Goose Greek on September, 13, 1941. Their marriage endured the Great Depression, World War II, and the raising of 2 sons, Thomas R Detman and Douglas T Detman. Golf was a lifelong passion for him, and the news of Pearl Harbor reached Roger on the 18th hole. The Army recalled him to active duty and he was picked for training in a new technology of some importance to the war effort, radar. He commanded a radar installation on the west coast, and eventually achieved the rank of Lt. Col. Following the war he entered graduate school at LSU on the GI bill and earned a PhD in Chemical Engineering. He taught briefly at Texas Tech in Lubbock before joining the C.F. Braun Co. in Southern California. Through a contract with Braun to build a refinery in Germany, the family spent 14 months there, and toured much of Europe in a shiny red and black 1957 Kharmann Ghia. Looking forward to retirement, Roger and Martha purchased property in Kerrville. Roger designed the house at 501 Mountain Top Dr., to which he and Martha retired in 1984. Roger is survived by his wife of 66 years, Martha, their two sons, three grand children, and three great grand children.

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