WILLIAM CHARLES COBB
1943-2021
William Charles Cobb, age 78, passed into the arms of his heavenly Father on September 15, 2021. He was a devout Christian, loving husband, devoted father, grandfather and friend.
Born in St. Louis, Missouri on April 5, 1943, Bill grew up in Dayton, Ohio and Austin, Texas. He graduated from the University of Texas with a B.S. in Aero-Space Engineering in 1966 where he was voted into Goodfellows and the Texas Cowboys, and served as President of his fraternity, Phi Kappa Psi and Commander of the Air Force Core of Cadets.
In 1966, Bill married his college sweetheart Nancy Hale Cobb and moved to Dayton, Ohio to serve his country in the US Air Force during the Vietnam War. He was Project Manager of three programs destined to save the lives of many American soldiers. Meanwhile, Bill earned his MBA from Ohio State University.
Returning to Houston,
Bill earned his CPA while at Touche Ross, then became COO at Bracewell Patterson. Subsequently he opened his own firm, Cobb Consulting. An active participant in the ABA, he published A Planning Workbook for Law Firm Management, the first of its kind for law firms. He was a featured speaker for the ABA, The State Bar of Texas, the International Bar Association, the American Lawyer Magazine and many others. He authored over 100 Articles and was inducted as a Fellow in the College of Law Practice Management.
Bill served as President of the River Oaks Breakfast Club, President of the Texas Cowboys Alumni Association, was on the Board of
The Executive Association of Houston, a member of the Houstonian since its inception, and on committees at the Houston Club.
Bill and Nancy joined St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in 1970, where Bill was head of the Stewardship Committee, and served on the Board of Stewards and the Finance Committee. He loved studying God’s Word. He was an inspiring leader of the Covenant class for 25+ years and longtime member of a Wednesday morning Bible Study, also volunteering with PEP Prison Ministry and CCSC.
Bill’s greatest love and priority was his family. He adored his wife, 3 wonderful daughters and their husbands. He was blessed to be “Papeaux” to 9 grandchildren and loving brother to 3 sisters. Bill had a zest for life, entrepreneurial spirit, great sense of humor and an outgoing, warm personality. He was positive, steady, others-focused, easy-going, artistic, an amazing dancer and always fun to be around. A man of many talents, Bill was an Eagle Scout, had his pilot’s license, completed three Marathons in Hawaii and could do a 360 freestyle jump on the ski slope. He loved golf, the Longhorns, all things Cajun, traveling and being with dear friends.
Bill was preceded in death by his parents, James Ransom and Eileen Provost Cobb and his brother-in-law and mentor, Tom Schornak. He is survived by Nancy, his treasured wife of 55 years; daughters Marlo Saucedo and husband Alex, Haley Thomas and husband Rob, Caroline Smith and husband Nick; his 9 precious grandchildren Abran and James Saucedo, Cobb, Charly, Ridge and Tribb Thomas, Ellie, Harrison and Libby Smith; his 3 sisters Gail Schornak, Millie Thomasson, Sue McWhirter and husband Mike, and beloved nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held September 20th at 1 PM at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 3471 Westheimer. Following is a link to the livestream service for those who cannot attend: https:// www.stlukesmethodist.org/ memorial-livestream-2/
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Prison Entrepreneurship Program (PEP.org), CCSC (ccschouston.org) or a charity of your choice.