Glen Nordyke Williams
Published 3:33 pm Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Glen Nordyke Williams, age 77, died April 3, 2016 at the College Station Medical Center, after a courageous, eight-year fight with cancer. He was a long-time resident of the Bryan/College Station area.
Glen was born on November 15, 1938 in Port Arthur, Texas. As a boy, he enjoyed spending time on the family rice farm near Crowley, Louisiana, and often recalled shooting water moccasins from the bridges over the bayous. As a teenager, he earned the rank of Eagle Scout, and spent summers unloading oil drums and sacks of sugar from barges on the Intracoastal Canal, where he learned the meaning of hard work, and gained a lasting respect for the men around him who made it their living. He graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Port Arthur as a member of the class of 1956.
Glen entered Texas A&M University as a member of the Corps of Cadets, serving as the Executive Officer 3rd Group Staff during his senior year. During one Christmas break, he met his wife-to-be, Mary Drago, also from Port Arthur, at the public library. They were married in Port Arthur on April 24, 1960, and he graduated with a BS degree in Civil Engineering the same year. Within a short time, he earned an MS and PhD in the same field, entered the Air Force, and served three years at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His military service to our country was always a source of pride for him and his family. During this time, the Williamses grew from two to seven, inspiring him to become a master tickler, model airplane builder, and giver of piggy-back rides, despite there being nothing to grab because of his perpetual flattop haircut.
The majority of Glen’s career started when he moved his family back to Texas, and was hired as a professor at Texas A&M. His time there spanned 41 years, and was spent doing research in a wide variety of areas, including the growth of pine forests, optimal flow through fluid networks, motion of oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico, computer visualization, autonomous underwater vehicles, and computer modeling of a Slinky in motion. He often said his favorite part of the job was the students, and with more than 4300, he influenced and inspired many, serving on 69 MS committees and 46 PhD committees. Many of those relationships have lasted to the present day. He was one of the original founders of the Computer Science program at Texas A&M, and received many honors over the years, including The Association of Former Students Distinguished Teaching Award, and the election to Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. As Assistant Dean of the College of Engineering, he was instrumental in establishing Texas A&M University at Qatar. He was proud to be registered in the State of Texas as a Professional Engineer.
Glen’s family knew him as a loving father and grandfather who exemplified integrity, honesty, kindness, faith, strength, and courage. He never tired of fast-pitch softball, handball, fishing, grilled cheeseburgers, Aggie football games, and Friday night fun at the movies. His 21 grandchildren will always remember their times with “Poppop” or “Gupapa” at the beach cabin, and getting to go out on the boat to catch flounder and redfish with him. Sharing those times with his family and friends was more important to him than whether the fish were biting. Glen and Mary were happily married for 56 years. As he would phrase it, “’nuff said.”
Glen was preceded in death by his parents, Elda Mae and Vertis Williams, his brother Jimmy, and daughter-in-law Andrea. He is survived by his wife Mary and their children, Janna and Glen Williams, Jim Williams, Dana and Edward Rhomberg, Kathy and Michael Roth, Karen and Joseph Ogden, and his grandchildren: Megan, Glen III, Colton, Jackson, Lauren, Zachary, Joshua, Mary Elizabeth, Kathryn, Caroline, Christopher, Alaina, Jonathan, Nicholas, Hannah, Tyler, Matthew, Kathy, Concetta, Sam, and Mark.
His family would like to thank the staff at MD Anderson Cancer Center for the friendships made there, and for the many people willing to fight alongside them, while providing an unmatched mix of science and compassion.
To celebrate and honor Glen’s life, a Funeral Mass will be held at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Bryan on Saturday, April 9 at 11:00 am, with the Reverend Monsignor John McCaffrey officiating. Burial will immediately follow at the Aggie Field of Honor in College Station. Visitation will be Friday, April 8 at Hillier Funeral Home in Bryan beginning at 5:00 pm, and Rosary at 7:00.
In memory of Dr. Glen Williams, contributions may be made to MD Anderson Cancer Center, P.O. Box 4486, Houston, Texas 77210-4486; or to St. Mary’s Catholic Church building fund, 603 Church Ave., College Station, Texas 77840.