Robert Neil Belcher Sr.

ROBERT NEIL BELCHER, SR. “Bob” passed away peacefully on March 28, 2018, one month shy of his 88th birthday, from complications of Alzheimer’s Disease. Bob was born May 1, 1930, in Kenvir, Harlen County, Kentucky, to Nora Moses Belcher and Carl Jennings Belcher, the youngest of their three sons. He graduated from Evarts HS in 1947, attended the University of Kentucky before transferring to the Detroit Institute of Technology, where he obtained his Bachelors of Science in Chemistry in 1957. While attending DIT, Bob worked as a brewing chemist for Stroh Brewing Company on Woodward Ave. in downtown Detroit. It was during this time in Detroit, in 1954, when he was introduced to Una Summerfield. Una was dating his cousin at the time and had been invited to join the family for Easter dinner. She was smitten by his dashing “Montgomery Clift” good looks. At the time of his graduation, the United States was deep into the cold war and space race with Russia. Bob was employed by the Missile Division of the Chrysler Corporation in Detroit as a chemical engineer, where he worked on the thermal expansion of the Redstone ballistic missile and the Jupiter C rocket developed by Wernher von Braun for the purpose of putting a “civilian” (actually surveillance) satellite in space. In 1959, Bob accepted a position with Lockheed Marietta, where he worked on the C-130 military transport aircraft. Una followed Bob to Marietta upon promise of marriage. He stayed true to his word and they were married in October of 1959. Bob worked for a brief spell at the Naval Ordinance Plant in Macon, Georgia, providing failure analysis on experimental aircraft. In 1963, Bob moved his young family to Clearwater, Florida, where he began working for Honeywell Aerospace to develop a coating for the guidance memory drum of the Air Force SR-71 Blackbird. This coating was designed to be encrypted with the top secret flight paths for the airplane and was his proudest accomplishment. Bob also developed a beryllium coated gas bearing for Honeywell’s ring laser gyroscope, which enabled missile navigation systems to strike within 0.01 degree of accuracy. Bob’s career took him to Texas in 1967 when he went to work for LTV-E Systems developing integrated circuit boards for navigation and radar specific to advanced space systems and electronic warfare. Tired of moving and the lay-offs that persisted in the aerospace industry when a government contract was not renewed, Bob used his knowledge of chemical and corrosion engineering to start his own company and apply that knowledge to the industrial water treatment industry. Chem-Ecology, Inc. opened it’s doors in 1971, providing corrosion and scale inhibitors for commercial heating and cooling systems and application support through chemical analysis. His chemical products were the most innovative formulations on the market and his results earned him the respect of some of the largest commercial building and thermal energy plants in the state. With Una by his side, Bob ran the company and managed it’s self-funded pension and profit sharing plans until his retirement in 2002. He was a long time member of the National Assoc. of Corrosion Engineers, the Assoc. of Industrial Plant Engineers and a Vendor Affiliate member of the Dallas Building Owners and Managers Assoc.

In his spare time, Bob enjoyed golfing with friends or his older brothers, especially his brother, Gordon, who lived in Austin. Gordon had a gift of “psyching” Bob out on the course in order to win every time. He was always proud to boast of his smarter middle brother’s accomplishments in aerospace engineering. Bob enjoyed traveling as long as you could drive – he had put too many planes back together after test crashes to ever be comfortable flying. There were many trips to Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Florida and California to see family and friends and enjoy the beach or Midwest Sweet Sue corn on the cob and fresh Kentucky Wonder green beans. He also enjoyed trips to Juarez or Laredo for Spring break, where he indulged in hand made boots and El Presidente’ Brandy. Fourth of Julys were spent with friends and family at South Padre Island. Bob and Una had 64 rewarding years together and taught by example that marriage is not just about romance, but a lot of hard work. Their last 50 anniversaries, since moving to Texas, have been celebrated with the same Greek restauranteurs at either Goldfingers or Greek Isles and many a celebration continued with half the restaurant coming home for breakfast. They built neighbor, work and client relationships into lifelong friendships through their oyster fries and Christmas open houses in their home. They beamed with pride at the accomplishments of their grandchildren.

Bob was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Onis Gordon Belcher, his brother Paul Jennings Belcher and Paul’s wife, Evelyn. He is survived by his loving wife Una Summerfield Belcher; daughter Donna Belcher Heenan and husband Craig; son Robert Neil Belcher, Jr., sister-in-law Louellen and his beloved grandchildren Maggie Heenan Bailey (Mick), Collin Robert Belcher, Brenna Heenan Lee (Chris) and Patrick William Belcher, as well as many dearly loved nieces and nephews.

A Requiem Mass will be held on Easter Monday, April 2nd, at 3 pm in the Chapel at Sparkman Hillcrest Funeral Home, 7405 W. Northwest Highway, Dallas, Texas, 75225. Interment will follow at Hillcrest Memorial Park. The family will receive visitors before the service beginning at 1 pm. In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully requests donations be made to Faith Presbyterian Hospice - T. Boone Pickens Hospice and Palliative Care Center Capital Campaign - https://www.faithpreshospice.org/donate/