John Arnold Focht Jr.

John A. Focht Jr. of Houston, Texas, died of pancreatic cancer at his home on October 22, 2010. John was a loving husband to his devoted wife Edith Rials Focht and they recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. He is survived by two children and their spouses Cheryl and John A. Focht III and Scott and Judy Focht Rimato. He was a loving grandfather to Kyle Focht and spouse Emily, Sarah Focht, Thomas Focht, Morgan Schweitzer, Courtney Rimato and Hannah Rimato. He was 87.

John was born in Rockwall, Texas on August 31, 1923 to John A. Focht Sr. and Fay Goss Focht. He moved to Austin in 1926 when his father joined the civil engineering faculty at The University of Texas. He attended public schools, graduating from Austin High in 1940. He earned the rank of Eagle Scout while in high school. John attended The University of Texas, where he received his BSCE degree in 1944. John was then called to military service and served his country in the Army of the Occupation in France and Germany.

After the war, John attended Harvard University under the GI Bill, earning a Master of Science in Civil Engineering degree in 1948. While at Harvard, he studied under Karl Terzaghi, Arthur Casagrande, and other early pioneers of the emerging field of geotechnical engineering. John and Dr. Casagrande became lifelong friends, and it was at Casagrande’s urging that John began working at the US Waterways Experiment Station in Vicksburg, Mississippi in 1948. While at WES, John applied his UT and Harvard education to the design of levees, locks and other structures being built by the Army Corps of Engineers along the Mississippi River system, including the Morganza Floodway. John met Edith Rials at a square dance in Vicksburg and they married on August 8, 1950 just prior to John’s return to active duty at the outbreak of the Korean War. John served in the 434th Engineering Battalion as a Captain, where his company was responsible for the construction and maintenance of roads and bridges.

After John was honorably discharged from the Army in 1953, he moved to Houston, Texas and joined Greer and McClelland, which became McClelland Engineers. He was responsible in part for McClelland’s growth from a small Houston group of about 20 to a multi-national organization of more than 800 employees offering a wide range of geotechnical services to industry and government. He was an internationally known consulting engineer, having consulted and lectured around the world.

John received numerous awards, including Distinguished Engineering Graduate, University of Texas, in 1964. He received national awards from the American Society of Civil Engineers for five of his more than 40 papers, mostly on dams, pile foundations, and offshore structures. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1986 and was the Texas Society of Professional Engineers Region IV Engineer of the Year and state Engineer of the Year in 1987. He served as President of the American Society of Civil Engineers from 1989-1990. John was the ASCE Terzaghi Lecturer in 1993 – the highest honor bestowed on a geotechnical engineer; a National Honor Member of Chi Epsilon in 2000; an ASCE Geo-Institute "Hero" in 2002; and received the Texas Section, ASCE Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002. He also received an award in recognition of his dedicated service as a Civil Engineering Certification, Inc. Founding Director. John was a driving force for the creation of specialty certification within the American Society of Civil Engineers and it is likely the program would not have come into existence without his long-term efforts to promote advanced, post-license certification for civil engineers. He was a frequent speaker at universities in the US and has presented invited lectures in Mexico, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia. He was a member of Tau Beta Pi and Chi Epsilon.

Houston has benefitted from his work. He was responsible for the design of both Lake Livingston and Lake Conroe Dams, and his innovations and judgment guided the foundation design of most of Houston’s tallest buildings, including the JP Morgan Chase Tower, the tallest soil-supported building in the world. John was also involved in the design and construction of many Southeast Texas and Louisiana refineries and chemical plants as well as Port of Houston facilities and much of the original development of NASA’s Johnson Space Center. His work also led to many innovations in the support of offshore exploration and drilling structures both in the US and around the world, particularly relating to pile foundation design and construction. Much of the research conducted in this area at The University of Texas was due to his personal ties to that institution as well as his personal relationships and strong influence within the oil and gas exploration industry. In 2001, John was honored for this work with the Offshore Pioneer Award by the Offshore Energy Center.

In addition to professional activities, John was active in his community. When John and Edith Focht moved to the Houston Heights in 1953, they joined Grace United Methodist Church where they were both very active. John served as Chairman of the Board of Grace Church and taught a high school Sunday School class for over 15 years. At Fair Haven United Methodist Church he served on the Board and as Finance Chairman. John was a member of the United Methodist Men at both churches. He served as a committeeman for a Cub Pack and a Boy Scout Troop and one year as Scoutmaster. John was pleased that his son John and grandson Kyle are Eagle Scouts and that grandson Thomas is finishing his requirements for Eagle. He also served as a Director for the Northwest YMCA. During his term as national president of ASCE, his theme was “The Civil Engineer being a good Citizen Engineer” and the Texas ASCE membership created an award in his honor named the “John A Focht Jr. Citizen Engineer”. This award is given annually to an Engineer for outstanding contributions in the community.

The family will receive friends for visitation on Tuesday October 26th, from six o’clock in the evening until half past eight o’clock at the Waltrip Funeral Directors, 1415 Campbell Road in Houston, Texas.

A celebration of John’s life will begin at half past ten o’clock in the morning on Wednesday, October 27th with the family greeting guests at a gathering prior to the service at Fair Haven United Methodist Church, 1330 Gessner in Houston. The celebration service will be held in the sanctuary beginning at half past eleven o’clock with internment following in Memorial Oaks Cemetery. Honored to serve as pallbearers are John A. Focht, III, Kyle Focht, Thomas Focht, Scott Rimato, Sarah Focht and Morgan Schweitzer.

The family suggests memorial contributions may be directed to the John A. Focht Endowed Presidential Graduate Scholarship in Civil Engineering, attention Engineering Scholarship Program, The University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station C2100, Austin, Texas 78712-0284; Fair Haven United Methodist Church, 1330 Gessner, Houston, Texas 77055-4093; or the charity of the donor’s choice.