WILLIAM ALFRED “BILL” BROOKSHIRE

1935-2017

A memorial for William Alfred “Bill” Brookshire, 81, of Lufkin and Pasadena will held Friday, May 19, 2017 at 1:30 p.m. at University of Houston, in the Houston Room of the Student CenterSouth. We look forward to sharing more of his accomplishments and stories of our collective times together.

William Alfred “Bill” Brookshire, Co-Founder and longtime Chairman of S&B Engineers and Constructors, Ltd., died peacefully on the afternoon of Friday, April 21, 2017 at his beloved home near Lufkin, his hometown.

Bill graduated from Lufkin High School at the age of 16 where he played football and made lifelong friends. He attended Kilgore Junior College on a football scholarship. He then finished his BS in Chemical Engineering in night school at University of Houston. He completed his MS and PhD in Chemical Engineering in 1960 at Louisiana State University with the help of a fellowship from Humble Oil. Some of his favorite honors were being inducted into the LSU College of Engineering’s Hall of Distinction 2012-2013 and being named a University of Houston Distinguished Alumni in 2016 and a Distinguished Engineering Alumnus in 1989.

His first job after college was at the Humble Oil plant in Baytown, Texas. In 1966, he moved to SIP where he met James G. Slaughter, Sr. Together they founded S&B in 1967. This year, he and his current business partner, James G. Slaughter, Jr., and their employees are celebrating 50 years of a thriving business. S&B started out in a leased funeral home with wives decorating and daughters answering the phone. It now has offices worldwide and employs over 7000 people. Still, it is not uncommon to meet team members with decades of tenure and families with multiple members as current or former employees.

Bill’s professional honors include being a past member of Government Programs Steering Committee of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, a past Vice Chairman of the ECC Executive Board (Engineering and Construction Contracting Division of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers), a former member of the Rice University Engineering Board of Review, a former member of the Board of Industrial Advisors for the University of Houston College of Technology, and a 1998 recipient of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Engineering and Construction Contracting Division Award.

His later years were filled with great satisfaction when he created The William A. Brookshire Foundation. The primary purpose is to provide scholarships for children of S&B employees and engineering students that are also working to support themselves (as he did). He ensured that The Foundation will live beyond him to continue its support for students. He often retold the stories and accomplishments of his scholarship recipients that he got to know through annual visits to the schools and their letters to him.

Anyone who knew him would say, Bill’s happiest days were spent in the woods, hunting and fishing. He also enjoyed skeet shooting, photography, and watching college football, especially UH Cougars and LSU Tigers. He loved hosting people at his home in East Texas where he proved to be a master cook. In his mind, a perfect day was spent with friends or family, a fire in the fireplace, a dry martini, and a good cigar. Bill was an avid life-long learner. He studied everything from finance to fruit trees. The family joked that if he was grumpy then he must be between projects.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Fannie Estelle (Lawless) and Brady Bell Brookshire.

He is survived by his three children, Lori and her husband John Garrison, James “Brook” and his wife Julie Brookshire, and Christina “Crissy” Brookshire. His legacy will shine on in his treasured grandchildren, William “Will” Brookshire, Connor Garrison, and Caroline Garrison.

In lieu of flowers, we ask you to consider a charitable gift in memory of our father to the Cullen College of Engineering at the University of Houston, the LSU College of Engineering, or the charity of your choice.

Details on how to donate to the universities and a map to the memorial can be found at http://www.sbec.com/wab.

Memories and condolences may be added at www.carrowayfuneralhome.com.

Carroway Funeral Home, Lufkin, directors.