Bobby “BK” Wilson died unexpectedly at home on October 19^th, 2018, in Houston, Texas, at the age of 86.

BK is survived by his wife, Karen Dorris; daughter Carrie Linn Frost, grandchildren Paulina Marie Frost, Gabriel Thomas Frost and Natalia Linn Frost, and son-in-law Brian Frost, all of Pleasanton, California; step-daughter Kayla Williams of Toledo, Ohio; his brother Bill Wilson of Owensboro, Kentucky, and his brother-in-law Bill Dorris of Houston. He is also survived by cousins Aubrey Linn Wilson, of Austin, Texas, and Mike Wilson, of Paducah, Kentucky. He is survived by his life-long best friend Robert Stephens of Seattle, Washington. Bobby and Robert were born a few months a part in 1932 and met in first grade.  In the last few years Robert visited Houston at least once a year and he and Bobby would spend days together sharing stories about their adventures as young boys in Kentucky.

He is preceded in death by his parents Eura (Gossett) and Linn Boyd Wilson, his beloved sister Mary Lee Howle of Harrisburg, Illinois, and his brother Jimmy Linn Wilson, who died when Bobby was 6 years old.

BK was born on February 9, 1932 at home in Barlow, Kentucky to Eura Omega (Gossett) and Linn Boyd Wilson.  He graduated from Barlow-Kevil High School in 1950 in a class of 26 students. Bobby graduated from University of Houston on June 2, 1962 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering. He was a licensed civil engineer from 1966 to 2008. After working for Landev Engineers for many years, Bobby and Karen opened and ran an engineering consulting firm in the Heights until Bobby’s retirement. The firm focused on land development, drainage studies, and M.U.D. districts. During these years, Bobby married Karen Dorris, who currently works for Ares Corporation, an aerospace engineering contractor at NASA. They were together for over 32 years. After he retired, he enjoyed his outdoor activities as well as cooking, genealogy, gardening, and eating nightly bowls of Blue Bell ice cream.

His children and grandchildren, daughter Carrie and her children, Paulina, Gabriel, and Natalia, remember him as a kind, gentle, patient and loving “Pappy”, which was also the grandfather nickname used by Bobby’s own father.  Pappy encouraged them to pursue their goals but remember to have fun. He never failed to let them know that he loved them. Natalia remembers Pappy’s stories of his childhood, and how he told them to her when she couldn’t fall asleep; specifically, about all the wild animals he made into pets (crows, foxes and hawks). Paulina remembers Pappy making her homemade ice cream for her birthday, and homemade limeade in the summer. Whenever she asked for one of them, he would make it right away. Gabriel remembers his fruitless but enjoyable duck hunt with Pappy last Christmas, as well as their long discussions about past hunting trips of all types and antique guns.

His stepdaughter Kayla was always inspired by his beliefs in peace, nonviolence, and nature conservation, and for standing up for decency and justice in daily life. She also shared his love of music, and learned a lot about American folk and roots music from him, since he took her to many concerts when she was a teenager, including the famous Kerrville Folk Festival yearly.

Bobby (“Beek”) was an avid duck hunter and loved the outdoors whether camping, fishing or hunting ducks. He was a witty individual who loved writing stories about his time back on the farm as a boy in Kentucky often found walking behind a mule plowing the fields. After being drafted and serving in the military during the Korean War (but never overseas) he headed to the big City of Houston.

Bobby was passionate about protecting wild places of America, and our fondest memories are of camping with family and friends. In the past, he volunteered for many years with the Timbergrove Neighborhood Association.  Most recently he had joined a neighborhood team working on a flood study to propose to Harris County Flood Control.  This study would use bond issue funds to protect our neighborhood and surrounding area from flooding like we had on the 4^th of July of this year.

His memorial is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 27, 2018, at Crowder Funeral Home – Webster 111 E. Medical Center Blvd. www.crowderfuneralhome.com, with a reception to follow also at the Webster location. Family and friends will speak at the service. All are welcome to attend and celebrate Bobby Wilson’s life. In lieu of flowers, send donations to The Nature Conservancy Houston Office 1800 Augusta Suite 240 Houston, TX 77057 https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/texas/contact-us/

Condolences can be sent to cfhclearlake@aol.com. The family would like to thank Dr. Julia Kovacs for her care and dedication to Bobby for the last 10 years. They would also like to thank the specialists at the Robert Cizik Eye Clinic, who helped him maintain his vision in his final years.