Walter Frank Roome

Walter Frank Roome, 60. Walter Frank Roome was born on March 5, 1950 at St. Patrick’s Hospital in Lake Charles, Louisiana. He is the son of Walter C. “Cecil” Roome and Dorothy Sybil Rutherford Roome of Oak Grove, Cameron Parish, Louisiana and the step-son of Robbie Via Roome of Bartlett, Texas. Walter started out at the Pure Oil Company settlement in Sweetlake, Louisiana with his older brother Dean and his mother Sybil where his father was a young engineer and a recent graduate of Rice University Engineering School. In 1952 the family moved to Oak Grove in lower Cameron Parish and lived next to the Rutherford Family home place where his maternal grandparents, Benjamin Franklin “B. F.” Rutherford and Adelia Broussard Rutherford lived along with other aunts, uncles and cousins in the Rutherford family. The Rutherford family were among the pioneer settlers of Cameron Parish and had settled along the chenier ridges among the massive oak trees and near fertile fields and marshes abundant with wildlife. In those days, Cameron Parish was indeed a “Sportsman’s Paradise” and a wonderful place for a young boy to play and explore. Walter’s paternal grandparents were Walter L. Roome and Ella Appling Roome of Louise, Texas. Walter was a favorite of both his grandfathers and his Dad as he was named after them and always known as Walter Frank.

In 1954, our sister, Eleanor Ann Roome was born and was the delight and joy of our life. The same year Dad was offered a promotion with Pure Oil Company and we moved to West University Place in Houston. In 1956, we moved to the community of Southside and both attended West University Elementary.

We traveled to our grandparents homes in Louise, Tx and Cameron Parish frequently and in June of 1957 our mother took the three of us back to Cameron Parish to attend Vacation Bible School at the Oak Grove Baptist Church. The following week we learned a storm was brewing in the Gulf and worked cattle for 3 days to round them up off the beach ranges and bring them inland behind the “Front Ridge” where our homes were. On Thursday, June 27th Hurricane Audrey struck Cameron Parish. Walter’s mother, Sybil Rutherford Roome; sister, Eleanor Ann Roome; and maternal grandparents B. F. and Adelia Broussard Rutherford perished in the storm. Walter was saved along with several young children due to the heroic efforts of his uncle, Joseph P. Rutherford.

In 1958, Dad married Robbie Nell Via of Bartlett, Texas. Walter told Dad he had to marry Robbie and he wanted her for his new mom. Robbie has been a wonderful loving, caring, devoted and providing mother to us and we are fortunate and grateful for her care. Walter was in the Y-Indian Guides and then the Cub Scouts at this time and loved the outdoors, camping and other recreational activities of scouting. We soon moved to Meyerland subdivision and Walter attended Edgar Odell Lovett Elementary and was the kicker on the football team there. He also attended Johnston Junior High and Bellaire High School.

Walter’s gift to the world was his love, friendship, care and compassion for others. Walter made friends wherever he went. I remember on an extended vacation to New ifelong friend at every tourist stop and destination. Walter and his friends loved to camp and explore. They would camp along Braes Bayou in Meyerland and go on weekend trips to lakes and campgrounds in Texas. Walter was very talented with engines and machinery as a teenager. He worked on all of Dad’s engines and kept them running. He had a Harley 3-Wheeler and he an his friends would tear down motorcycle engines and rebuild them frequently.

After the hurricane, Walter and I would travel to Louisiana frequently and visit with our aunts, uncles and cousins there. We would always stay with our aunt Eleanor Rutherford West and Uncle M. C. West. We were always very close to them and they were another set of parents to us. We always had a bedroom in their house and Walter stayed with them during his later high school years and attended and graduated from South Cameron High School there. On numerous occasions we traveled on vacations with them, especially to see our extended family in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana and Ballinger, Clint and Fabens, Tx and Ruidoso, New Mexico. Walter loved to hunt and fish with his friends and cousins in Cameron Parish. He grew up with and was very close to Joe and John Clark, J. R. and Bobby Conner and Wayne and John Sturlese. They would fish in the Big Burn, along the Mermentau and Calcasieu rivers and at the near offshore oil rigs and hunt in the marshes around Creole, Oak Grove and Pecan Island. Walter was an excellent shot and could hit clay targets passing left to right from the hip. Walter also designed and built boats with inboard engines to use in the marsh canals and rebuilt an old marsh machine given to him by Mr. John Paul Crain of Crain Brothers Construction Company in Grand Chenier.

Walter attended McNeese State University in Lake Charles and worked for Crain Brothers Construction Company doing oilfield construction and building pipelines on weekends and in the summer. In the early 1970’s Walter returned to Houston and began a career in the sporting goods industry. He worked for Grant Ilseng at Sporting Goods, Inc. for a number of years and was the Vice-President for Dealer Sales for their wholesale division. He also worked for Bill Larue as a manufacturer’s representative for Dupont Stren Line and Penn Offshore Reel Company along with several other manufacturers of sporting goods products. His territory was the state of Louisiana and the East and South Texas and he made countless friends as he traveled to call on dealers and attend the Shot Shows and other sporting goods media events. As a sporting goods representative, he also enjoyed several fishing and hunting trips to Mexico and South America. His favorite fishing spot was the Orinoco River in Venezuela where he fished for peacock bass.

Walter joined the Texas Air National Guard and served a six-year tour of duty as a Security Policeman in the 147th Security Police Squadron at the 147th Fighter Interceptor Group at Ellington Field. He enjoyed his time providing security for the alert forces, working with the troops at the rifle range during qualifications and deploying to Canada and other stateside locations to participate in exercises. Walter advanced rapidly in rank as a security policeman and was a Technical Sergeant at the end of his tour.

Walter also worked with his Dad and brother Dean in the oil business and often traveled to the old Pure Oil field in Louise, Wharton County, Texas to work on wells with them. Walter’s Dad and grandfather, Walter L. Roome and several uncles and cousins had worked in the same oil field since it was discovered in the late 1920’s and he still has several ideas and prospects that he wants us to complete.

Walter was not able to maintain an active work life in his later years as his health deteriorated and he was forced to use a walker and then a wheelchair. He suffered through a bout with cancer and then had a fall and broke his hip. He was able to maintain his lifestyle for several years in this condition and complained little about his difficulties. He remained a giving person and was very generous to his friends. He would go shopping in the evenings to get his exercise. He would only ask me to get him heavy things that he could not manage with his wheelchair like cases of bottled water. Throughout his adult life, he suffered silently with posttraumatic stress disorder due to his childhood experiences in the hurricane. He did not understand this insidious disease and was unable to receive effective treatment. Throughout the years, his health continued to gradually worsen and in the summer of 2010 he was again diagnosed with cancer. He began treatment at the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in October and began chemotherapy treatment in November. At M. D. Anderson, he continued to make friends with the doctors and other patients, especially in the reception area. After his third chemotherapy treatment, he developed fever and respiratory distress. On December 4th he was admitted to the Emergency Room and then the ICU at Christus St. Johns Hospital in Nassau Bay, Texas. He continued to make friends there and was lovingly cared for by a wonderful team of doctors, nurses and staff at the ICU. I visited him frequently along with his lifelong friend, Brad Ratliff and sister-in-law Sheila Ann Roome of Nassau Bay, Texas. He continued to show his care and concern as he was unable to speak with the respiratory equipment on but pointed and pushed to show me that the chair would recline and that I could rest there. Just before Christmas, he told me to get him some eggnog by pointing to the letters of the alphabet the nurse had made for him. Initially he made some encouraging progress and we had hopes for his recovery. Unfortunately, he was unable to overcome the respiratory difficulties and after a long and valiant struggle he passed away on Friday, January 7, 2011. His brother Dean and three wonderful and loving nurses from the ICU staff were with him. Together we read the Lord’s Prayer, the 23rd Psalm and the 27th Psalm. His passing was peaceful and with dignity.

Walter Frank is survived by his father and mother, Cecil and Robbie Roome and brother, Dean Roome of Bartlett, Texas; his sister-in-law, Sheila Ann Roome of Nassau Bay, Texas; his aunt, Ruthella Roome Yackel; and numerous cousins in the Roome and Rutherford families in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Arizona and Oregon. He is also survived by members of the Via family and countless friends of Walter’s who continue to love him and cherish his memory.

A Memorial Service was held for Walter Frank on Sunday, January 9, 2011 at the Oak Grove Baptist Church in Cameron Parish, Louisiana and at the Bartlett First United Methodist Church in Bartlett, Texas.

Walter Frank’s Service will be held at the Goodnight Funeral Home in Bartlett, Texas on Tuesday, January 11 at 1:00 pm. Graveside service will follow at the Bartlett City Cemetery. Food will be served at the Bartlett First United Methodist Church following the service.

In lieu of flowerers, donations can be made in Walter’s memory to the Wounded Warrior Project, The American Cancer Society, The M. D. Anderson Cancer Center or Christus St. John Hospital in Nassau Bay, Texas. Donations can also be made to the Oak Grove Baptist Church, Grand Chenier, La 70643 or the Bartlett First United Methodist Church or the First Baptist Church of Bartlett, Bartlett, Tx 76511.

We love and miss you Walter Frank.