Roll Call Tribute

Richard P. Jares 

January 24, 1947 - October 22, 2024 

Richard Jares '69 of Brenham, Texas died at home of pancreatic cancer October 22, 2024. Richard spent his life continually in motion until the very end. He enjoyed working on his numerous projects around the home, running with dogs in his UTV and volunteering with the Brenham Police Department. He ran more than 140 marathons, loved organizing hunting trips, and traveled to many countries.

His career as a chemical engineer and project manager started at the Union Carbide plant in Texas City after he graduated in 1969. He stayed at that plant designing, overseeing construction and maintenance of processing units even after the plant changed hands and became Dow. He continued to work on projects as a contractor with Jacobs and URS at nearby Texas City plants after he retired from Dow.

He and his wife of 55 years, Jerry, owned a farm in Brenham since the late 1970s. Richard would spend his weekends tending to cows and baling hay. In 2017, he and Jerry retired to Brenham and started a new chapter as community volunteers. Richard was an enthusiastic volunteer with the Brenham COPs auxiliary, where he would direct traffic and control event crowds. He was president of the Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association in 2022.

He was a lifelong learner of all things practical – from how to fix a barbed-wire fence to running electricity to a building. He built barns and other structures on property that he owned. He would often take the time to learn how to do something and do it himself than hire someone.

Richard was an Eagle Scout and embodied the principles of a good Scout, especially as a person who was helpful, friendly, thrifty, loyal, and trustworthy. He was a person who did what he said he was going to do.

Richard was born Jan. 24, 1947, the second of five children. He grew up in the Randolph AFB area near San Antonio, where his father worked as a mechanic for Cessna T-37 training planes.

Everyone knows Richard went to Texas A&M University, because he very frequently wore Aggie-branded – or at least maroon – clothing. He studied chemical engineering after a professor encouraged him.

Richard and Jerry married soon after graduation, on Sept. 27, 1969. They have two children, Andrea of Pearland and Chris of Palm Springs, California. Richard and Jerry have two grandchildren, Sofia, and Katya.

Richard looked forward to hunting season every year. He loved being with his friends at camp or in the deer blind and bringing home elk, deer, ducks, and geese for his family. He also enjoyed fishing in the bays around Galveston County.

He was known in Texas marathon running circles because he avidly enjoyed running several each year. About a quarter of the marathons he finished were ultramarathons or endurance races of 50 miles or more. He was shortlisted for the Blue Planet Run, a cross-continental run that raised awareness for clean drinking water. He spoke passionately about the importance of access to clean drinking water for the world’s most vulnerable people. “For clean water everywhere” was his email sign-off for many years.

Richard enjoyed traveling in other ways. In the mid-1980s, Richard and his family lived in Jubail, Saudi Arabia. He worked with a team to build an ethylene plant there. While based there, his family had the opportunity to travel to many countries, something that brought out Richard’s adventurous spirit. He saw Halley’s Comet in Australia and climbed 18,600 feet up Kala Patthar in the Himalayas, near Mount Everest.

Family and friends will celebrate the life of this remarkable person at a ceremony on Saturday, November 9, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Services begin at 10 a.m. If you are coming, please call or text RSVP (817-714-8286). Deadline is Wednesday, Nov. 6, at 9 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, please direct donations in Richard’s name to www.CharityWater.org/in-celebration-of-richard-jares/in-celebration-of-richard-jares