Charles Powell Abbott III

He was born on May 31,1934 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to the late Charles P. Jr. and Phyllis (Glasgow) Abbott. From an early age, Charles (Charlie) showed talent in math, science and the love of engineering. Charlie excelled throughout grade school while participating in activities such as achieving his Eagle Scout in July of 1950.

Charles graduated from Wichita Falls High School in 1952. He was accepted into Rice University, Houston, Texas, in the fall of 1952 where he studied chemical engineering until December 1956. His passion fell into the Electrical Engineering field so he made the transfer to the University of Texas in Austin to complete his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering in July of 1957.

During his college career, Charlie regularly appeared on the Dean’s list for outstanding academic performance. He participated in various associations and societies such as Eta Kappa Nu, Tau Beta Phi, The Ramshorn Association, AIEE and the Texas Society of Professional Engineers. While completing his degree at UT, Charlie enlisted in the US Army ROTC in 1956 and served in the US Army Reserves until he was honorably discharged in 1966. After graduating, Charlie was hired in 1957 by the aerospace engineering firm TEMCO in Dallas, Texas. He then was hired in 1959 by Texas Instruments in Richardson, Texas as a Product Engineering Branch Manager in the Application Specific Integrated Circuit Semiconductor Group and stayed at TI until his retirement in 1989.

During his tenure, he dedicated his talents to leading and managing specialized teams developing integrated circuits for innovative Texas Instrument products such as the Speak and Spell, Canon Camera components and digital calculators. Charlie and his engineers hold a place at the Smithsonian Institute celebrating the design of the first line Texas Instrument Datamath Calculator featuring an LED readout.

Charlie Abbott met his future bride, Lynda Koester, on a blind date in Wichita Falls. They quickly fell in love and married on July 26, 1966. They relocated to Dallas and built a home where they raised 2 children, Kelly and Jeff. Charlie was a dedicated husband and father who would go to great lengths to ensure his family was deeply loved and cared for. Charlie joined Messiah Lutheran Church, Richardson, Texas in 1978 and has remained a dedicated Lutheran attending Lord of Life Lutheran Church until his death.

Along with dedicating his time to Texas Instruments, Charlie also pursued various self-employment endeavors. He owned and operated Pronto Econo Wash Coin Operated Laundromat in Farmer’s Branch Texas from the early 1970’s until 2018. He enjoyed his family, church life, smart investing, photography, woodworking, competitive chess, collecting and studying pistols, rifles and ammunition and most of all, the Dallas Mavericks! Together, in retirement, Charlie and Lynda enjoyed countless family vacations to the mountains and well as cruises and overseas travel.

Charles was a born leader who treated others with kindness and compassion. He was quiet, strong, and intelligent with a witty, dry sense of humor. He will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him. In addition to his parents and younger brother Philip, Charles was preceded in death by his wife of 56 years, Lynda Koester Abbott, his son Jefferson Abbott and son-in-law Martin Engelbert. He is survived by his daughter, Kelly Engelbert; grandchildren, Emmy Engelbert, Thomas Engelbert, Dustin Abbott and daughter-in-law, Felicia Abbott.

A memorial service will be held on January 12, 2026 at Lord of Life Lutheran Church, 3601 W. 15th Street, Plano, Texas 75075 at 11am. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Lord of Life Lutheran Church at the address above