B.G. "Ike" Iverson

Barley Gilbert “Ike” Iverson, 100, passed away peacefully with family present on March 14, 2026 at his home in Liberty Hill, TX. Born December 5th, 1925 in Big Spring, Texas, to Alfred Oscar Iverson and Eula Mamie (Mullican) Iverson, he was the youngest of 5 children. His older siblings were John, Alice, Conrad, and Iver. Called Gilbert by his family and friends while growing up, he became known as “Ike” in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II, a moniker he went by the rest of his life.

Gilbert’s parents owned and operated a grocery store in Big Spring, and his father was also a brakeman on the Texas & Pacific Railroad. When Gilbert was three years old the whole family took the train to Rushford, MN to visit his father’s original home and family. He remembered meeting his paternal grandfather there, who called him Gub (pronounced “goob”), which means “bear” in Norwegian. Gub was his family nickname for years. Gilbert’s memories of his early time in Big Spring included walking alone at age 3 to visit a kind neighbor who would give him a fresh fried pie, and miraculously avoiding injury when being run over by a Ford Model T. When he was about four years old his father was transferred to El Paso by T&P, so his parents sold their grocery store and house in Big Spring and moved the family west. After living in El Paso for a while, they moved to the Rio Grande Valley near Ysleta, and Gilbert was enrolled at Cadwallader School, beginning 1st grade early at age 5. Ike remembered his time in the Valley fondly, and told stories of the delicious pears from an orchard next door, and an adventurous day when he, his youngest brother and his cousin left the house with a BB gun, a butcher knife, and a cigar torch lighter, planning to hunt down a rabbit, then skin and cook it on the spot! They did not succeed.

Sadly, however, the Great Depression had begun, and his father lost his job when Gilbert was about 6. It was around this time that his mother started to become seriously ill and was hospitalized in Big Spring for an extended period. Those were tough times, and without income, the rest of the family had to move to Wink, TX, and stayed with Eula’s sister Eva (Mullican) Whelan and her family. Gilbert and his siblings enrolled in the Wink school, while Alfred went back to Big Spring to be nearest to Eula and find whatever work he could. Eula was eventually diagnosed with pellagra due to malnutrition (she had been giving her own food to her children for too long) and at some point, she was moved to the Texas State Hospital in Wichita Falls, TX due to the onset of dementia. On a November day in 1932, at age 6, Gilbert was called out of his 2nd grade class and was told that his mother had died. After Eula’s funeral, the remaining family stayed in Wink to finish out the school year, then moved back to Big Spring. Gilbert’s Aunt Eva was concerned about her sister’s children, and at some point began to come get them one at a time to ensure they finished school in Wink. When Gilbert was 12, Eva picked him up, and he lived there until he enlisted in the military. He attended Wink High School where he enjoyed playing varsity basketball for the Wildcats, and serving on the annual staff. Routinely listed on the WHS honor roll, Gilbert graduated from Wink High School in 1942 at age 16 (in those days public school only went through 11th grade), and worked as a grocery clerk in Wink.

After Turning 17, Gilbert traveled to Lubbock in early 1943 to enlist in the USMC, joining his older brothers in the service who had enlisted in the Navy, the Air Corps, and the Army. It was in Lubbock that he met his lifelong best friend, D.G. “Mac” McWilliams. After completing boot camp and quartermaster training at Camp Elliot, Gilbert was assigned to the 29th Replacement Battalion, and steamed away from San Diego on the USS Rochembeau in late October, a week after Mac had departed on a liberty ship. He crossed the Equator on November 6th, and arrived at New Caledonia on November 16th to serve with the 1st Marine Division’s 5th Regiment, where he was reunited with Mac. It was on that South Pacific island one night around the campfire that a Sergeant looked at him and said something to the effect of “Look there at old Iverson—he looks like Ike Eisenhower.” From then on, he was known as Ike.

Ike’s unit first saw combat in December 1943 on New Britain at Cape Gloucester and Talasea. After these battles, the 5th Marines redeployed to Pavuvu for “rest” and training. In September 1944, the 1st Division invaded Peleliu—a hellish 73-day battle. On 1 April 1945 Ike was the radioman afloat, relaying landing orders to Marines initiating the brutal 82-day Battle of Okinawa. After Japan’s August 1945 surrender, Ike was sent to China as part of occupational forces disarming the Japanese.

For serving with the Fighting Fifth of the 1st Marine Division, Corporal Iverson was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation and the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with four bronze battle star devices. Sadly, those battles killed thousands of fellow Marines.

After WWII, Ike was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps in January of 1946. He returned to Wink to find work until going to college at Texas Tech on the GI Bill in June of 1946. At Tech he reunited with Mac, rooming together in a tiny apartment building called Cherry Casa. Due to the 3-year limit on GI Bill education support, Ike attended school straight through without a break, earning a Petroleum Engineering degree in three years and three months. One semester he was taking 21 semester hours, and a correspondence course! Prior to his graduation in 1949, Ike had been introduced to the beautiful Barbara Fowler by Mac’s future wife of 75 years, Margaret “Maggie” Melcher. After dating for many months and becoming engaged, Ike and Barb were married on June 4, 1948 in her hometown of Borger, TX. Mac was the best man, and Ike returned the favor when Mac and Maggie were wed. Barbara was a chemistry major who had aspirations to become a veterinarian. She graduated with a B.S. in chemistry and taught various science classes in public schools for nearly two decades. Ike and Barbara raised three children while moving all over the oil patch in New Mexico, Texas, and Kansas.

Ike’s engineering career began with a smaller independent oil producer named Kewanee Oil Company who he was with for 29 years. His time with Kewanee culminated as the District Manager responsible for drilling and production operations in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. In 1977 Kewanee was acquired by Gulf Oil Company, who soon promoted him to the West Coast Manager of Gulf’s Drilling and Field Operations, based in Bakersfield, CA. After a few years though, Gulf was forced to merge with Chevron Oil Company in the largest corporate merger in history up to that point. Ike worked for Chevron for a few years as a seasoned technical manager, overseeing enhanced oil recovery operations in California’s critical Lost Hills field. He eventually retired from the oil business in 1986, and in 1988 he and Barbara moved back to Texas to be closer to family, settling in San Angelo.

While in San Angelo Ike and Barb spent 15 years enjoying traveling with friends, golf, bridge club, line dancing, attending church, and especially spending time with their grandchildren. Sadly, Barb was diagnosed with cancer in 2003, and after nearly 56 years of marriage, passed away in 2004. After a long period of loneliness, Ike began courting Lanette Patterson, who he married in 2008. Ike and Lanette took good care of each other under the caring, watchful eye of Lanette’s son, Larry Patterson, and enjoyed 15 years together. Ike’s amazing longevity was a mixed blessing, as in 2023 he was widowed again when Lanette passed away.

Realizing the need to be near more family, Ike overcame his aversion to Longhorn country, and the old Red Raider moved to Liberty Hill at age 98. Ike’s son Larry and his progeny all live in the Austin area, providing a large support network. Ike’s devoted grandsons, Ehren Iverson and Alex Iverson, worked closely with the grandfather they adored to design and build a new home on Ehren’s property, custom made to suit his needs. Grandpa Ike thoroughly enjoyed being close to more family members than he had in decades and loved engaging daily with his great grandchildren, attending many of their team practices and activities. During the quiet times when the kids were at school, Ike enjoyed sitting on his shady covered back porch, visiting with neighbors, and watching the dogs. He also greatly enjoyed watching his Red Raider athletic teams on television, and Ehren’s dedicated family always helped him find the games (despite being Longhorn fans!) Sharp of mind until the end, he could analyze each game and discuss it afterwards in detail, recalling key plays many could not.

Ike was grateful to this family and cherished his time in Liberty Hill, a community that embraced him with open arms, largely due to the genuine devotion of Ehren’s wife, Katie, to her husband’s grandfather. He was deeply moved by this couple’s care, and often referred to them as his “guardian angels”. Katie worked incessantly on Grandpa Ike’s behalf. In addition to addressing his day to day needs, she organized and hosted several events in his honor, including a parade, multiple family reunions, a surprise 99th birthday party, and a fantastic 100th birthday celebration. She was also instrumental in coordinating his performing the coin toss at a Liberty Hill High School football game, his speaking at the last two City Veterans Day ceremonies, and the publication of a cover story about him in the Liberty Hill Independent. Ike made many new friends thanks to all these events. Over 80 people attended his 100th birthday party, and most of them were local folks. His short two years in Liberty Hill were so hospitable that he jokingly referred to himself as a “local celebrity”.

Ike was preceded in death by his parents, his siblings, and most of his lifelong friends. He is survived by his cousin Bruce Whelan, his third cousin, Margie Hood, and 21 descendants whom he loved very much, including his children, Laurence (Regina) Iverson, Coleen Iverson-Routh, Jon (Shelley) Iverson, and step-son, Larry (Gail) Patterson. He is also survived by eight grandchildren: Alysabeth (John) Spiece, Ehren (Katie) Iverson, Riley Iverson, Elijah (Katryna) Iverson, Sylvia Grace (Nolan) Johnson, Nathaniel Routh, and Peter (Emma) Iverson. Additionally Ike is survived by nine great grandchildren: Georgia Spiece, Cedar Spiece, Riley Iverson, Hallie Iverson, Hayes Iverson, Knox Iverson, Ike Iverson, Olive Iverson, Calvin Iverson, and another on the way! A memorial service for Ike will take place at 2:00pm on March 28th at Weed Corley Fish Funeral Home in Leander, TX. Semper Fi and guns up, Grandpa Ike!