UPDATE: His farewell celebration of remembrances and lunch will be on Saturday, October 29, 2016, at 11am in Tanglewood Park, 3901 Carter Creek Parkway, Bryan, Texas 77802.

After a long and valiant struggle with health issues, Orville Thomas Rowan III, 53, (Tom to his family and friends), went to sleep Wednesday morning, August 17, 2016, holding his mother’s hand.  He was born in El Paso, Texas, on October 12, 1962, to Orville T. (Tom Jr.) and Shelby (Yerkes) Rowan.   He, with his career Army dad, mother and eventually two sisters, had lived in Texas, Colorado, New Jersey, Germany, Missouri, Michigan and back to Texas and then in his own Army years and later with his own family, in Kansas, Hawaii, Australia, Virginia, Germany, Missouri, Florida, back to Texas and eventually to Bryan.

He graduated from Waynesville High school, Waynesville, Missouri, in 1980, immediately moved to Port Lavaca, Texas, with his family and shortly thereafter joined the United States Army and served eight years.  He reveled in being able to see much of the world, especially his tour of duty in Australia. With a short break between discharge and recall he ended up at Fort Lee Army Base in Virginia in 1991 and met and married Angela Weston, who remained his dear friend even after they divorced.  Two children were born to them while she was stationed in Germany.  Over the course of all those moves he worked at a number of jobs but always said that the best job was working nights as Dock Foreman for The Bryan/College Station Eagle.

He loved people, never met a stranger, loved his family and enjoyed being outdoors.  He and God were good friends and a highlight of his week would be Tuesday night Bible study in his apartment.   He was preceded in death by his father in 1996.   He is survived by his mother, Shelby Rowan; his two children, Sabrina and Tom IV, and their mother, Angela Rowan, all of Bryan; his two sisters and their families, Adina DeWitt and sons, Matthew (Beth) and Nathanial, Estes Park, Colorado, and Terri (Mark) Malaer and children, Christine, Cody and Kyle, Port Lavaca, Texas; aunts, uncles, cousins, many friends, and Bob, his faithful four-legged canine companion.

The family is most grateful for all the caring doctors and nurses in St. Joseph’s Critical Care Unit and Hospice Brazos Valley and all the wonderful Texas Home Health caregivers who made his last few years much happier.  In lieu of flowers, gifts in his memory might be made to Long Way Home Adoptables, P.O. Box 5458, Bryan, TX 77805 or a charity of your choice.  His farewell celebration will be lunch and remembrances on October 29^th at an outdoor place yet to be determined.

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