The Rotary Club of Space Center (Houston), Texas, and U.S.A.
Rotary International District 5890 (589)
Club 2010 
Chartered August 6, 1964

Memorial for Deceased Club Members
Click Here for Names

The dedication, contribution, and warm friendship of the those members who have passed away will always be cherished and remembered by the Club members.  Over the years efforts have been made to commemorate these beloved members.  The first effort was to plant a tree for each deceased member on the north side of the YMCA on Highway 3 in Webster, Texas at the property line going from the east to the west.  The July 13, 1987 newsletter, Blastoff, noted the following statement regarding this memorial:  "As a way of honoring the deceased members of our club, it was decided in 1985 (Historian 2009: Board Minutes November 1, 1983 noted the first mentioned of the memorial at the YMCA) that we would plant a memorial tree (live oak) in the memory of each deceased member in the designated Memorial Grove at the Bay Area YMCA  (picture taken May 6, 2009), located on Highway 3 in Webster.  To date, we have planted trees in memory of: Harry Smith, James L. (Jim) Haas, Alfred Neumann, and Richmond J. (Dick) Bownds.  We are now planning a memorial ceremony to honor the following deceased Rotarians: Steven D. Stewart, Rex Strader, Dr. Jim Cook, Cheng Loon Hooi, Marvin Matthews, O. G. (Gene) Lindquist, and C. D. (Cap) Landolt."  There is no other record as to how many were added if any. Unfortunately over the years,  the trees died according to Robert Wren, Club President 1985-86, and the memorial no longer exists. 

The second attempt to have a  memorial was to erect a  monument   (2 views taken May 6, 2009),  close to the entrance to Clear Lake Park in Seabrook, Texas at the southeast corner of the fence which surrounds the Landolt Pavilion next to the parking lot. This memorial was set up in 1990-91 under the Presidency of Billy R. Smith.

Over the years these the deceased Club members are remembered in  memorial services held by the Club.  Often the spouses of the deceased members are present.

The names of our fellow Rotarians, who have made our lives and the lives of countless others better because of their unselfish "Service Above Self" attitude, are captured now within the archives.  Not only is there a list of their names,  but available eulogies about them at their passing and as they are remembered by fellow Rotarians years later.  When eulogies and tributes  are not available, other information, usually a vita, from the newsletter is provided when possible.

Note from Historian 2009:  President Geoff Atwater (2006-2007) adds the following status of the monument on February 1, 2010.

"The current site was deemed not beautiful as the new fence was extended cutting off the area behind the monument and the road was diverted to cut off area in front of the monument. As director of that Avenue of Service, Club Service D which had the Memorial Committee in that avenue, I was tasked with fixing it.

I worked with the County Parks people, who chose an alternate site across the park and just south of the playground overlooking the lake; it would have been a great site. The board allotted funds that I used to have a landscape architect create a   three-tiered plaza with ADA compatible paths that would have created a respectful and even prayerful site for the monument. Then Sylvia Garcia was elected and things changed. The monument was deemed “too morbid” for the park and we were asked to remove it. I was told there was no rush, so I did nothing.

I am somewhat surprised Rotary has not been pressured to remove the monument. The parks people have not done so on their own as it would cost about $3500 for the equipment rental from Ott Monument. Some day, I expect they will give us an ultimatum and a deadline.

I looked at two other sites for the monument. One was a traffic median in Nassau Bay, which met none of our expectations; the other was a site on the north side of   Lake Nassau, which ran into political issues with City of Nassau Bay administration. 

 It seems there is no good site for the Rotary monument."

Note from Historian 2009:  Additional  information  from President Laura Hale (2002-03) in January 2010.

"The monument was placed at the southwest corner of the Landolt pavilion area because in the early years the entrance to the pavilion was at the southern gate.  Later the northern gate was used therefore bypassing the southern gate and consequently the monument.  At one time plans were completed and funds committed to have a small garden, benches, and a reflection pool around the monument.  However with a new Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner the plans were dropped."