Robert Gonsoulin Jr.

Robert "Bob" Joseph Gonsoulin, Jr., age 81, was called up to Heaven on January 4, 2014 after a long and courageous battle with Parkinson 's disease and most recently ALS. Bob was born October 11, 1932 in Galveston, Texas. Bob was a Veteran of the Korean War and proudly served in the United States Navy until his Honorable Discharge on September 3, 1953. The discipline and patriotism he learned in the navy never left him, as friends and family will attest. Upon his discharge and return Bob attended the University of Houston. He moved to Corpus Christi in the 70's and resided in the area for the remainder of his life. Bob worked in the Refinery/Oilfield Industry for more than 50 years. He worked for Control Specialties, Inc. for greater than 32 years as the Valve Repair Supervisor/Branch Manager. After retiring from Control Specialties, Bob went to work part-time for Cooper Cameron as a Valve Repair Salesman until vision difficulties and being diagnosed with Macular Degeneration. He took pride in the fact that he always left his customers satisfied. As his fellow coworkers and business associates can attest to, his success in business can be directly attributed to his work ethic and natural mechanical abilities. He was always giving back to the community in many different ways from donating over 5 gallons of blood at the Corpus Christi Blood Bank. He had been a member of the local Six Points Kiwanis Club and served a term as President. Through that organization; he worked with residents from the Corpus Christi State School. The members provided love and emotional support, arranged basketball games, took groups to the river for fun filled days of canoeing, volleyball, horseshoes, and other games along with barbeques. He also volunteered with Special Olympics. Bob was awarded the "Service to Mankind Award" on April 5, 1974 from the Corpus Christi Morning Sertoma Club. He was a devoted supporter of the Calallen and Tuloso-Midway Athletic Programs. When he was not working or volunteering, Bob loved to spend time with family and friends golfing, fishing, hunting, or working around the house. He will be dearly missed and never forgotten. Bob was a loving husband, father, grandfather, and friend. His family was the most important part of his long wonderful life. He is preceded in death by his parents Robert Joseph Gonsoulin, Sr. and Isabel Sutter Gonsoulin and a sister Annette Gonsoulin Shaw Hebert. He is survived by his devoted and loving wife of almost 34 years, Merikay Gonsoulin; five children, Mark (Pauli) Gonsoulin, Daniel (Rosemary) Gonsoulin, Mike Gonsoulin, Gary Lofthouse, and Karrie Lofthouse; six Grandchildren, Erika (Jake) Rieder, John (Ashton) Gonsoulin, Austin Lofthouse, Camryn Lofthouse, Zachary Lofthouse, and Keaghan Lofthouse; brothers and sisters, John "Jack" (Mary Jo) Gonsoulin of Huffman, TX, Marie "Peaches" (Louis) Owen of Tyler, TX, and Suzanne Groneman of Webster, TX; Sister-n-law, Pamela Rogers of Corpus Christi, TX; numerous nieces and nephews. Committal Services are scheduled for Friday, January 17, 2014 at 11am at Coastal Bend State Veterans Cemetery in Corpus Christi, TX. Please join his family in a Celebration of his life. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Parkinson's Research at www.pdf.org or for our military men and women at www.USO.org.