Michael "Mike" Scott McWilliams

Michael Scott McWilliams, age 71, of the Woodlands, TX passed away on July 16, 2023, surrounded by his family after a valiant 6-year fight with a rare neuro-degenerative disease, Corticobasal Degeneration.

Mike was born on October 26, 1951, in Bay City, TX, to Charles Edward McWilliams and Alva Belle Garvin McWilliams. He was raised in Port Arthur, TX, attended Thomas Jefferson High School and met the love of his life, Brenda Powell, at Thomas Edison Junior High in 1966. He attended Texas A&M University and graduated in 1974.

Mike was a loving husband, father, son, brother, and Poppy to 6 wonderful grandchildren. He was an Eagle Scout, Texas Aggie Chemical Engineer, ExxonMobil executive for 41 years, and a member of The Woodlands United Methodist Church. He met his wife Brenda at the young age of 14, and they were never apart after that. They were married 51 years and have two children, Melinda and Patrick.

Mike was the go-to man. He could and did build rooms, fences, playhouses, decks, and multimillion dollar “cat crackers.” He repaired the cars, the faucets, untangled the jewelry, and engineered solutions to challenges. He was an avid reader and historian. He lovingly grew tulips. He loved good food, theater, movies, Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, and John Wayne. Mike was a man of integrity, character, courage, and loyalty.

Mike worked his entire career for ExxonMobil Corporation. He retired in 2016, having begun his career as a Refining Engineer in Baytown, TX. He rose through the ranks holding a variety of technical, operational, supervisory, and managerial roles in multiple manufacturing facilities and headquarter organizations. He spent the second half of his career supporting and leading the various business lines from Environmental, Regulatory, and Compliance positions from ExxonMobil Headquarters and retired as Chief Environmental and Regulatory Engineer. In this role, Mike was responsible for ExxonMobil’s global refining and chemical facilities and traveled the world. Mike was insistent that Brenda join him for most of his trips, and together they saw many parts of the world including Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Bangkok, Singapore, Paris, Brussels, Sydney, Kuala Lumpur, London, Edinburgh, Munich, Buenos Ares, and more.

He is survived by his devoted wife, Brenda; his daughter, Melinda Camus, husband Al and their daughter Caroline and son Caleb; his son, Patrick McWilliams, wife Wendy and their daughters Ella, Mary Frances, Katherine, and Elizabeth; his brothers, Steve McWilliams, and Joe McWilliams. He was preceded in death by his parents, Charles Edwards (Mac) McWilliams and Alva Belle Garvin McWilliams, and his stepmother, Laverne Uher McWilliams.

As John Wayne said, “Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway.”

A funeral service in his honor will be held on Friday, August 4th at 11:00 am at Christ the King, Presbyterian Church in Houston, Texas, 1201 Silber Rd, Houston, TX 77055.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be given to further the research to cure and treat those struck with Corticobasal Degeneration. CurePSP at 1216 Broadway, 2nd floor, New York, NY, 10001 or online at http://psp.org/iwantohelp/ways-to-give/.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.forestparkthewoodlands.com for the McWilliams family.