Robert Allen Hemphill

Robert Allen Hemphill passed from this world on Sunday, August 20th, 2023, after being called home by his Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. He leaves behind a loving family and a legacy of love and faith.

Born at St. Joseph Hospital in Houston, Texas on the 29th of December, 1954, he was a true Texas gentleman with a quick wit. Robert’s Texas roots grew deep and strong. His heritage on his father’s side is from Nocona, Texas, later Houston, and ultimately Moscow, Texas; his mother’s family were originally Polish immigrants into the Brenham and Richmond/Rosenberg area, and his grandparents and extended family were sharecroppers on the historical George Ranch. In childhood, Robert delighted in the time he spent on the George Ranch, fishing in the Brazos River, duck hunting, deer hunting, and especially his first adventures driving tractors. At the George Ranch, he was placed in a tractor seat to drive as a young two-year-old. He carried the love of fishing, hunting, and tractor work throughout his life, holding dear the many hunting adventures with family and close friends in Wharton, Rosenberg, Harper, Hondo, and Moscow, Texas, not to mention hunting excursions to Colorado and Wyoming. He also enjoyed a hunting lease on the Koch family’s Hondo 1,000-acre ranch for 35 years, the experiences made complete by its rustic 1800s bunkhouse in which many adventures and good meals were shared with family and friends. He delighted in challenging Joy with this rustic living. Hunting, tractor work and many treasured family memories were enjoyed on the Hemphill Ranch in Moscow, TX, along with a menagerie of dogs, horses and cows. Robert said he always did his best thinking while in nature and in the quiet of a deer stand. Robert and Joy especially enjoyed mountain vacations, starting with their Rocky Mountain mountaintop marriage in Colorado and later including locations such as Banff, Canada and Alaska.

Born while his parents lived in company housing in the Katy oilfield, in 1957 they moved to the then-new Houston neighborhood of Shepherd Forest. Robert attended St. Rose of Lima Elementary School and Waltrip High School, graduating in 1973. While in Shepherd Forest, he rode his bicycle along the path being created for what eventually became I-610. In August of 1973, he enrolled in The University of Houston and studied business management. Robert enjoyed athletics while in school, playing football, baseball and intramural college basketball. Joy, who by her own right possessed a strong basketball skillset, in their early lives made the mistake of challenging him to a basketball game of one-on-one. This is the only game she ever recalls losing.

He carried this childhood affinity of sports with him throughout his life, especially enjoying football games of his preferred college teams and the Houston Astros. Surprisingly, before he met Joy, he possessed a love for the University of Georgia football. Possibly because of this, he seemed greatly intrigued that Joy was reared in Georgia. Other teams dear to his heart were his own University of Houston Cougars and later the teams for the colleges attended by Emily, Baylor University and Notre Dame.

Robert had many passions in his life, the first of which, his faith, was always of utmost importance to him, becoming more significant as he matured. He would not miss a Sunday worship service, even foregoing Sunday morning hunting to attend a quaint remote church. He and Joy enjoyed traveling for conferences to learn more about their faith; these trips provided them the opportunity not only to learn more about their Lord, but also to extend the trips into a vacation and romantic getaway. In addition to these trips with Joy, he also enjoyed the consistent pleasure of trips to his family ranch - the Hemphill Ranch - in Moscow and deer and duck hunting trips. He also possessed a zeal for antique cars and motorcycles, owning an antique motorcycle most of his life. He derived many hours of relaxation from driving and exploring the countryside. Car trips with him were full of awe and adventure. In music, he loved old-time country and old-time rockabilly music, an interest he shared with Joy. His Aunt Dora introduced him to these genres at a young age by sharing sample artists from the music store in which she worked. Robert devoured these samples. He enjoyed reading Texas history, especially with regard to such personalities as General Eisenhower and Admiral Nimitz, reading about the Texas Rangers, about the early cowboy days of Texas, cattle, and the musical history of Texas, always preferring Texas musical artists such as Rodney Crowell and Lyle Lovett. He had great knowledge of the wartime strategies employed during World War II. His keen interest in anything Texan extended to a prized Texas barbeque cookbook, which his daughter inherits. Robert was a connoisseur of Texas barbeque. As a special treat for Joy, he once planned a trip that involved hitting the top five barbecue spots from Texas Monthly Magazine’s annual review.

Robert was a true family man. He always had a close, endearing family life with his parents, sisters, aunts and uncles reveling the times he shared with them. After marriage, this devotion was extended to include Joy’s parents, siblings and their families. Though always a Texan, he was forevermore thrilled to travel east to Georgia and Alabama to visit his new family.

Within his own family as well, Robert, Joy and Emily prized every moment they spent together. Their morning breakfast visits often went to noon and beyond. Simple car trips were lively with conversation. Some of their favorite things to do together were to attend Houston Astros games, college football games, and the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo. Season tickets were held to the yearly Texas Bowl football game from 2003. Upon retirement from ExxonMobil, Joy wished to give Robert a meaningful gift they could share. For the next five years, she purchased him a 10-game set of season tickets to Astros home games. At one game, Robert deftly snagged a foul ball that zoomed straight into his hands. They also had season tickets to the University of Houston Cougar football games. With the family heritage of ranching mingled with Robert’s enjoyment of country music and his dedication to all things Houston, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo was an annual event attended several times each year with family and friends. Robert was a serious spectator of the rodeo, always wanting to be early so as not to miss anything, especially not the entry. He passed this love on to his family. In later years, he greatly enjoyed assisting Joy in judging their neighborhood’s Yard of the Month contest, possessing a keen eye for color, symmetry and neatness.

On April 1st, 1974, while still in college, Robert started what became a 41-year career with Exxon U.S.A., beginning in the credit card center. In August of 1978, he transferred to the Exxon Pipeline Control Center in downtown Houston, progressing from a pipeline dispatcher/controller to relief scheduler, and then shift supervisor. In July of 2003, upon returning from his honeymoon in Colorado, until his retirement in 2015, he was the Pipeline Operations Control Center Area Supervisor in charge of pipeline daily operations. As ExxonMobil OCC is a 24/7 operation, under the pressures of continuous monitoring of sophisticated computers and alarms to ensure the safe movement of oil and gas, many strong lifelong relationships were developed. The control center was Robert’s other family, comprised of an abundance of strong-willed personalities, all of which were dear to Robert. Lifelong close friendships were made with superiors as well as coworkers. These friends with similar interests often socialized beyond work, enjoying meals together, hunting trips, Astros games, and the Houston Rodeo. In work, Robert was renowned for his people development skills, with an instinct for recognizing talent and how best to implement such talent, foresight and planning for future needs, devising schedules, but most especially fiercely standing up for his workers with PHMSA. Upon retirement, Robert said he had achieved his goal that no life was lost under his supervision.

In death, he follows his parents Robert and Marie Kopycinski Hemphill. He leaves behind his cherished wife, Nancy Joy Edmondson Hemphill; a treasured daughter, Emily Edmondson (Jordan Sakakeeny); sisters Terri Picard (Chris) and Donna Hemphill (Jana Ostergrant); brothers-in-law, Phil Edmondson and Don Edmondson (Jackie); nieces and nephews: Andrew Picard (Kristina), Jenny Picard (Mike Gonzales), Kennedy Ostergrant, Kylie Ostergrant (Scott), Shelby Tolar, Daniel Edmondson, Sophie Edmondson, Lindsey Wright (Brett) and Landon Carter (Grant); and great-nephews and niece, Seamus Gonzales, Jackson and Parker Wright, and Harris Carter.

A visitation and rosary with family and friends will be held Wednesday, August 30th, 2023, 6:00 p.m. through 8:00 p.m., at Memorial Oaks Funeral Home, 13001 Katy Freeway, Houston, Texas 77079. Those wishing to speak about Robert’s impact on their lives will be held at this time. A funeral mass celebration before our Almighty God to give thanks and praise for Christ’s victory over sin and death, and to commend Robert to God’s tender mercy and compassion, will be held on Thursday, August 31st at 11:00 a.m. at St. Ignatius Catholic Church, 7810 Cypresswood Drive, Spring, Texas 77379, with burial services immediately following at Memorial Oaks Cemetery, 13001 Katy Freeway, Houston, Texas 77079. Immediately following burial services, all are invited to greet family and mingle during a reception in the banquet room of Memorial Oaks Funeral Home.

For those wishing to make a donation in lieu of flowers, they may do so at the following:

Sacred Heart Catholic Church: https://giving.parishsoft.com/app/Giving/sacr704193

For those unable to attend Robert’s funeral mass in person, participation via livestream is offered at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVKpDmNvHv1YffUAysrlyNQ