Ronald Lee Fowler

Ronald “Lee” Fowler passed away on February 28, 2018 after enjoying every minute of his 83 1/2 years on this earth.  He loved to tell his life story with his numerous adventures to anyone who would listen.  He grew up in Houston and while still a child, moved to Galveston, and later Venezuela where he raised ducks and learned he was allergic to green mangoes (just the green ones).  He liked to tell his children how he would climb the trees in Venezuela to try and salt a parakeet’s tail in order to catch one.  He attended The Bolles School, a college preparatory in Jacksonville, Florida, where he achieved the “Highest Academic Average for grades 6 through 9”.  He worked on the student newspaper, played football, and sailed.  He then attended Rice University back in the days when they actually beat the University of Texas and Texas A&M, and won the Cotton Bowl.  

After earning his Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Rice, Lee joined the Navy where he prayed the Rosary for peace every day.  It apparently worked since no wars occurred during his navy time, and his drills as Damage Control Officer (they called him the Damn Control Officer) aboard the USS Renville were never put to use.  He did get to visit interesting places while in the Navy including Rio De Janeiro, Madrid, and Hong Kong where he avoided contracting any diseases.  

After his honorable discharge from the Navy, Lee worked for the Humble Oil and Refining Company which later changed their name to Exxon because they could no longer be humble with an engineer like Lee working there.  Lee drilled over 50 oil wells for Exxon including some groundbreaking offshore wells in ultra-deep water depths.  He was instrumental in the placement of the record-breaking Hondo platform in California.  Lee was most proud of the fact that there were no significant injuries on any of the wells he drilled.   

After his long career of 34 years at Exxon, Lee worked as a contract engineer in Nizhnevartovsk, Russia in Western Siberia.  He described it as one of the most beautiful places he had ever seen with exceptionally  friendly people.  He later worked for 20 years with the Minerals Management Service, a government agency in the Department of the Interior, in Elmwood, Louisiana and Lake Jackson, Texas.  His role was to evaluate drilling permits and to ensure that rigorous safety and drilling standards were met.  Lee performed an exceptional job of meeting the needs of the various drilling companies while ensuring safety was not compromised.  Shell Oil awarded Lee for his extraordinary engineering efforts by naming an oil well after him in the deepwater gulf, and inscribing his name on the wellhead.
At some point, Lee made the best decision of his life and married Ruth Gwendolyn Sawyer.  It was the happiest 24 years of his life.

Lee loved a good joke and always had one or two ready for the next person he saw.  He also loved to go deep-sea fishing.  Lee was incredibly generous to all around him.  Complete strangers would refer to him as “that happy man”.  He would somehow find those in need and try to help improve their situations as best he could.  Lee knew deep down in his heart that the only good music is country music, and surely there is country music in heaven.  We are fairly certain that “Country Rose,”  (he refused to believe the title was actually “Country Roads”) will be there to meet him, along with John Denver.  Likewise, Lee was a die-hard New Orleans Saints fan since the team formed in 1967 and was personally responsible for causing a Brett Favre interception in the Saints/Vikings 2010 NFC Championship Game by perfectly timing his distracting cheer.

Lee was preceded in death by his parents, Nellie Mae (nee Robinson) Fowler and Dick Fowler.  Lee is survived by his two children and their spouses; Rhonda Marie (Fowler) LeGros and Mark Christman LeGros, and Richard Lee Fowler and Victoria (Sloop) Fowler.  He was blessed with five grandchildren; Ariel Anne Fowler, Gabrielle Diana Fowler, Alexander Lee Fowler, Mark Christman LeGros Jr., and Renee Marie LeGros.  He is also survived by his two siblings; Dick Fowler and Sylvia (Fowler) Reed, and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins whom he loved dearly.

When he had to go home after visiting with you, he would always recite his favorite verse from Robert Frost:

"The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep."

You have traveled many miles, and now, Lee Fowler, you can have a well-deserved sleep.

Visitation will be at 9AM on Saturday, March 10th at Saint Maximilian Kolbe Church at 10135 West Road, Houston, TX 77064.  A funeral Mass will follow at 10AM.  Immediately after the Mass, there will be a procession to Woodlawn Cemetery at 1101 Antoine Drive, Houston, TX 77055 with a brief burial service.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Alzheimer's Association.