Peter Harris Roussel

https://www.dropbox.com/s/nz677a7qjo07xbl/Peter%20Roussel%20Memorial_010522B.mp4?dl=0

A lifelong Houstonian, political consultant and public relations expert who served as a White House spokesman during the Reagan administration, Peter Harris Roussel, 81, passed away on Monday, the 26th of December 2023, at Belmont Village in West University after a courageous battle with cancer.

He is the last surviving member of his immediate family, and was preceded in death by his parents, Hubert deTavanne Roussel and Dewey Harris Roussel; his older brother Hubert Roussel, Jr.; and his older sister, Stephanie Milburn. He is survived by two nieces, Leslie Young of Grapevine, Texas and Laurie Pomara of Dallas, Texas; two great nephews, Shawn Young of Grapevine, Texas, and Jesse Pomara of Dallas, Texas; a great niece, Leah Tanner of Dallas, Texas; and numerous cousins.

Peter, or “Rou” as his close friends called him, was born in St. Joseph’s Hospital in Houston and was in the very first kindergarten class at St. John’s School the day it opened in 1946. He later competed as a member of the school’s football, basketball, and track teams. He chose to follow in his older brother’s footsteps by attending and graduating from Lamar High School.

Peter’s parents were in the forefront of Houston’s journalism, theatre, music and opera scenes from the 1920s to the 1960s, and nurtured Peter’s early interest in the performing arts. In 1963, while attending the University of Houston, he wrote and directed the documentary film, “A Shooting in Town,” which won first place in a national competition. The film was later broadcast on various television outlets and circulated worldwide by the United States Information Agency. Before graduating from U of H in 1965, the national radio-television honorary society Alpha Epsilon Rho selected Peter for membership in its prestigious ranks.

From there, Peter’s professional career was equally divided between two pursuits that inspired him: politics and public relations. He launched his public relations career in 1966 with the Houston firm, Rives, Dyke & Co., which at the time was handling the advertising for the reelection campaign of U.S. Senator John Tower. Working on the Tower campaign sparked Peter’s interest in politics – and also led to his meeting George Herbert Walker Bush, who was running for the U.S House of Representatives in the same election cycle.

A few years later, while Peter was serving as press secretary for the Republican members of the Texas State Legislature, then-Congressman George Bush asked Peter if he would be interested in being his press secretary. Peter agreed and proceeded to serve as press spokesman for Bush in his positions as U.S. Congressman (1969-70), U.S. Senate candidate (1970), United States Ambassador to the United Nations (1971-73) and Chairman for the Republican National Committee (1973-74). In August 1974, Peter was asked to undertake his first tour of duty in the White House as Staff Assistant to President Ford.

In 1976, Peter joined another key mentor throughout his career, James A Baker, III, to help manage President Gerald Ford’s presidential campaign. In 1978, Peter also served as a key campaign aide in Mr. Baker’s unsuccessful campaign for Texas Attorney General. In early 1981, Peter received another call from Mr. Baker, who was then serving as White House Chief of Staff to President Reagan, asking Peter to join the White House staff as a spokesman for President Reagan.

On his first day of work in the Reagan White House, on the 7th of July 1981, Peter received an assignment from Mr. Baker which he would forever consider one of the most significant of his career. Baker instructed Peter to depart immediately for Phoenix, Arizona, where he was to serve as spokesman for the nomination of Judge Sandra Day O’Connor as the first female associate justice of the United States Supreme Court.

Peter went on to serve in the White House as a presidential spokesman for President Reagan, 1981-87. During that time, he was eyewitness to many historic events and accompanied President Reagan to Geneva (1985) and Iceland (1986) for his pivotal summit meetings with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

Following his Washington, D.C. career, Peter returned to Houston and re-entered the public relations field. When President George H.W. Bush chose Houston as the U.S. city to host the 1990 Economic Summit of Industrialized Nations, Peter served as spokesman for the Houston Host Committee. In 1997, his firm Neumann Roussel handled all media relations for the dedication day ceremony of the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library at Texas A&M University. In addition, Peter served as an on-camera broadcast commentator for local and national news media outlets and he wrote articles published in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and other publications. Peter never married, often citing that he was pretty much married to his career.

In 2009, Peter was appointed the Philip G. Warner Endowed Chair at Sam Houston State University, where he taught public relations and presidential communications. He often commented on his experience at SHSU as “one of the most fulfilling times of my life.” In 2021, the Peter Roussel Career Archive was established at the Sam Houston Memorial Museum.

Tragedy struck the Roussel family early in Peter’s life following the outbreak of World War II. His brother Hubert, who was 17 years older than Peter, enlisted in the Army Air Force as a radio gunner on a B-29 crew, and was killed in action on the 13th of December 1944, when his plane was shot down over the Pacific Ocean returning from a mission over Nagoya, Japan. Peter was only three years old at the time, and for the remainder of his life retained only one faint memory of Hubert from the last time he was home on leave. His sister, Stephanie, was instantly introduced to adulthood when she had the difficult task of informing her three-year-old brother that their older brother had been lost in action. Stephanie and Peter had a very special bond throughout their lives. In many ways, Peter always felt she filled the void left by their brother’s death — as did George H.W. Bush and Jim Baker.

The family wishes to thank Dr. Jennifer Wang and the team at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center for the special care provided to Peter.

A memorial service and celebration of his life is to be conducted at one o’clock in the afternoon on Friday, the 6th of January, at the Church of St. John the Divine, 2450 River Oaks Boulevard in Houston, where The Rev. Dr. R. Leigh Spruill will serve as officiant.

Immediately following, all are invited to greet the family and share remembrances during a reception in the nearby Sumners Hall.

KINDLY NOTE: Those unable to attend his service in person may attend virtually by joining the livestream, the link to which may be accessed by selecting the “Join Livestream” icon located in the “Services” information below. The link will go live just prior to the start of the service.

In lieu of customary remembrances, memorial contributions in his name may be directed to Sam Houston State University, Department of Mass Communication, Dan Rather Communications Building, Room 212, Box 2207, Huntsville, TX, 77341; or to The Church of St. John The Divine, 2450 River Oaks Blvd., Houston, TX, 77019.

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