William "Bill" Robertson, DVM

William Ralph Robertson was born to Ralph Waldo Robertson and Ruby Lee Anderson on April 4, 1937, in San Antonio, Texas. Bill attended St. Joseph's Academy in San Antonio, a private catholic school in his first and second-grade years. Young Billy Ralph’s parents owned and ran a small grocery mercantile store until his father, Ralph, received a serious injury while moving a refrigerator. This resulted in a head injury that left him a quadriplegic and led to early death. His mother, Ruby, was soon after diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer and died shortly leaving Billy Ralph parentless. Bill's interest in medicine started early, traveling by train two times to the Mayo Clinic to seek medical treatment for his parents, and a thorough evaluation of himself due to his small stature. It was then that he experienced his first blood draw, where his ear was nicked to get samples of blood to check his bodily functions which fascinated him.

After his parents passed he moved to Barksdale, Texas. He lived on a beautiful South Texas ranch of 1,000 acres which had huge live oak trees and a wide rock-bottom clear creek running through it. There he lived with his grandparents Rebecca Maples and Bud Anderson aka “Big Momma” and “Big Poppa.” Here he honed his hunting and love for game cuisine mainly deer and squirrel. Bill attended the remainder of his primary education at Barksdale public schools. Bill was loved and supported by his community. Fellow rancher Arthur Beck and Beck’s family became very important to Bill's upbringing and served as family to Billy Ralph. He was also influenced early on by his piano teacher, Wanda Pope, who would sometimes get aggravated by young Bill’s knack for playing the piano by ear. He was active in sports and had a very close relationship with his school agriculture teacher, Joe Trees. At the Houston stock show Bill’s freshman year, he won a class showing a heifer and was presented his prize by Roy Rogers himself. His love and caring for animals started early by assisting Joe Trees in birthing calves and doctoring 4-H and other animals. This also included raising and treating the animals on the family's ranch.

Back then there not many veterinarians, particularly in this rural part of Southern Texas which enhanced his ability and desire to care for animals. On the ranch, Young Bill Ralph and his grandmother slept on the screened-in porch leading him to catch a life-threatening case of pneumonia. Surrounding ranch women came and helped nurse him around the clock. After his recovery, Big Momma, whom he adored and truly considered his mother, took him to the doctor to see that he would not catch pneumonia again. The Doctor shared with him that if he caught pneumonia again, he would most likely die. The Doctor advised that young Bill kept a supply of sulfa antibiotics around so he could dose himself when necessary. From that point on, Bill had a standing account with a local feed store in order to keep a supply of antibiotics.

A few weeks prior to graduating high school, Bill’s ranch home burned to the ground due to an electrical fire. This caused him to lose all the family heirlooms he had. He was left with only a pair of jeans, boots, a belt, a cowboy hat, and his 4-H/ Agriculture jacket. Despite this, we never heard him complain one time of early misfortune. He attended Texas A&I and Texas A&M to receive his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine in 1963. Bill's veterinary career began with stints as a meat inspector in Fort Worth Texas and then St Louis Missouri. In St. Louis, he was introduced to the track and fell in love with the beauty, grace, and excitement of horse racing. He then found an opportunity to come to Odessa and purchase Angel Veterinary Clinic. He arrived in a dust bowl storm. He described it as one that you could not open the screen door after. He lived in Odessa and loved it ever since. A lot of that had to do with meeting a pretty blonde just three days after his arrival, Mary Opal Anglin.

As the story goes, Mary had an adult female German Shepherd that had been hit by a car and needed help. Mary offered to pay her bill by working for Doctor Bill and this was the beginning of their legacy. In the early days, Bill and Mary were a two-person operation. Bill the veterinarian, Mary the very capable veterinary technician, surgery assistant, kennel tech, and bookkeeper. For the next 56 years, they shared mostly everything, their love of family, friends, and all animals, particularly horses, and were steady devoted companions, who were rarely seen away from each other. Bill and Mary just went together. Bill and Mary had four beautiful children Kirk, Lisa, Becky and Bill, Jr. He always offered his children love and support and most importantly space. Space to grow space to live and do awesome things. He always encouraged his children by supporting them to do anything they wanted. Kirk has a motorcycle shop and a skilled mechanic in Nacogdoches Texas. Lisa is a skilled painter and has a sign company in Oklahoma. His son, Bill Jr. has been able to have a successful event production company for many years hosting creative beautiful events for corporate, social, and charity events around the country and worldwide. Dr. Bill was able to share his love of veterinary medicine with his daughter Becky and son-in-law Jeff.

Starting in 1998, the three doctors practiced together for 18 years. In 2015, Becky and Jeff purchased Angel Veterinary Clinic. Dr. Bill then continued to have an equine practice until this summer. He just got a thrill helping animals and people. He had a lot of great hard working people sharing his love for animals. Dr. Bill had a strong interest in equine reproduction and over his career bred and produced at least two thousand horses.

Dr. Bill Robertson also had a strong steady work ethic that has been contagious to those around him. He was a mentor to countless Veterinarians and staff in the industry. He loved helping animals and people more than anything else. He had a loving nature and a giving heart. He believed that there was one rule to live by, The Golden Rule: To Love God above all things and do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Dr. Bill was a member of Trinity Baptist Church for 40+ years where he led the congregation in worship by singing original praise pieces and playing the piano. He was an impact investor in our community. He chose to live his life here because he loved the hard-working people and West Texas. He appreciated the opportunity that Odessa gave him and his family and did his part to make it better.

With the help of amazing people and the staff of the Clinic, Dr. Bill was able to do truly incredible things. Dr. Bill asked me to pass on some last thoughts and wishes, “Thank you so much for showing up and devoting yourself through the years. Thank you for the community for accepting me and for trusting me with your pets. It has been an honor. Thank you for the my teachers who believed in me, my loving wife, and my beautiful children. Thank you, God, for creating me. It has been a true blessing and a fun ride. In any obstacle or trial of life, always show true grit while staying humble and kind.”

In honor of Bill Robertson (my daddy) and Angel Veterinary Clinic, we will continue to practice love, peace, and compassion to our staff, patients, clients, family, and friends. It is our mission, at 3412 W. University Blvd, to help the world be a better place when we leave.

Dr. Bill's legacy continues with his 7 grandchildren, C.K., Shannon, Sarah, Richard, Kayli, Lauren, Madelynne, and 11 Great-Grandchildren.

Pallbearers: Fernando Perez, Mike Logan, Alfred Vardeman, Joe Vannatta, Jay Chancey, Joe Alexander, Roy Gillian, Leo Alverdez

Honorary Pallbearers: Jeff Battershell, Jessie Hernandez, Julian Perez, Alex Perez, Carlos Gonzales, Charels Kirk Robertson

In Lieu of Flowers Consider Donating to the Following:

● Ector County Livestock Association, PO Box 1972 Odessa, TX. 79760

● LOPE (Lone Star Outreach to Place and Adopt Former Racehorses), lopetx.org

● Humane Society Odessa, odessahumanesociety.org

● Trinity Baptist Church, 1222 S. Jackson Odessa, TX.

Funeral Home: Hubbard Kelly (Odessa, TX.)

Visitation Hours: Saturday, January 4, 2020 12-5 PM

Family Visitation: Sunday, January 5, 2020 3-7 PM

Burial: Rock Springs Cemetery (Rock Springs, TX.)

Monday, January 6, 2020 3 PM

CELEBRATION OF LIFE

To be held, February 1st, 2020. At Barn Door South 40 Event Center, from 2-5 PM.