Roll Call Tribute

Floyd W. Rosenbaum 

October 21, 1928 - June 20, 2024 

Floyd Wilburn Rosenbaum, beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, age 95, passed away on June 20, 2024. He was born on October 21, 1928 in Burton, Texas, the first son of Rudolph and Mamie Schoenemann Rosenbaum. He was baptized and confirmed in St. John's United Church of Christ in Burton, Texas. Floyd graduated from Burton High School and was a member of the high school band. His career started on a surveying team being responsible for laying out the right-of-way for the Houston to Galveston freeway. After completion of the freeway project, Floyd joined the United States Army Air Corp. He was a member of a B-29 group, the 19th Bomb Group 205th Air Force. He was a frequent participant in the 19th Bomb Group reunions.

Floyd received an honorable discharge with the United States Air Force and entered Texas A&M University at College Station, Texas, class of 1956, where he received a B.S. in Mathematics. After graduation he went to work for Douglas Aircraft in Santa Monica, California. He was assigned to the Thermodynamics Group in the engineering section. He developed computer modeling systems that were used for rocket science and material engineering research on early U.S. rocket designs. He then moved to Houston, Texas and worked with the Cooperation for Economic and Industrial Research where he helped develop an operating system on IBM mainframes. He accepted a job at NASA where he worked on the GEMINI and APOLLO projects. Floyd was a member of the NASA research team at the Houston, Texas Institute for Rehabilitation and Research that did experiments studying the effects of gravity on astronauts during long term flights. These experiments were used to design a space suit for long term missions. Near the end of the APOLLO project, he went to work for Texaco in Houston in their Information Systems Department. He retired from Texaco after 30 years of service.

While still in the Air Force, Floyd met Miss Doris Koester, the love of his life, via an arranged blind date. They married in St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brenham, Texas in 1952. They were married 68 years until her passing.

His parents Mamie and Rudolf Rosenbaum Jr., son Floyd R. Rosenbaum, brother Curtis E. Rosenbaum, sister Leatrice Rosenbaum Mattingly, and wife Doris Koester Rosenbaum precede him in death. He is survived by his daughter Cynthia Rosenbaum, brother Bob Rosenbaum and wife Carol Braun Rosenbaum, sister-in-law Peggy Koester Porter and husband Charles B. Porter, grandchildren Karl Nowotny and wife Christy, Kathryn Nowotny, Kyle Nowotny, Kristofer Nowotny and wife Jenn Le, great-grandchildren Holden Nowotny and Ashe Le, as well as many nieces, nephews, cousins, and other relatives and friends.

Floyd was also a member of the Burton Lions Club, American Legion Post 242, Lone Star Flight Museum, Top Cats dance club, and the Washington County Genealogy Society. His hobbies were boating, fishing, hunting, dancing, genealogy research, mathematics and physics, and oil painting. He and his wife enjoyed doing genealogical research together and were often seen together dancing the night away in the local dance halls.

Visitation with the family will be 4pm-6pm Thursday, June 27 at Memorial Oaks Chapel in Brenham. A graveside service will be at 10am Friday, June 28 at St. John's United Church of Christ Cemetery in Burton, Texas. A Memorial service will be 11am Saturday, June 29, 2024 at Faith Lutheran Church, Bellaire, Texas, 4600 Bellaire Blvd, Bellaire, TX 77401.

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Memorial Oaks Chapel, 1306 West Main St., Brenham. To post a tribute to the family, please visit www.memorialoakschapel.com.