Mr. Bob Solis

Robert Solis, known in his later years as “Mr Bob”, was born August 20, 1931 in Corpus Christi, Texas to Jose Solis and Celia Marroquin. A descendant of the original Spanish land grant holders which made up Texas and eastern Mexico, he was very proud of his Spanish heritage and greatly enjoyed a trip to Spain in his later years.

Robert entered the Air Force in 1950 and while stationed in South Dakota he met his first love MaryAnn Laur as well as meeting his best friend Fred Hyatt, who would later marry Rayma Chase. Robert and MaryAnn wed in 1953 and the friendship of these two couples would last all their lives.

After leaving the Air Force, Robert worked as a Test Engineer while attending college and graduated the University of Southern California with honors in 1965. A President of the Eta Kappa Nu chapter at USC and a recipient of a prestigious award for outstanding scholarship and professional promise he seemed destined for great things.

In the 1960s Robert and his family moved to Cape Kennedy where he became a direct participant in the growing space program and was part of the control team responsible for the first moon flight. The Solis and Hyatt families watched rocket launches, witnessed the first man on the moon and followed the Apollo missions. It was here in Florida that it also became apparent how much Robert loved not only his known passions of bowling and table tennis but how very much he loved fishing!

Cuts in the Space program resulted in a temporary relocation to Downey, California. Again relocated, Robert returned to his home state of Texas to assist with NASA’s development of the Shuttle program. As a lead engineer, he assisted with navigation and flight control for the Shuttle and other programs until he retired as a Supervisor in 1988.

Robert continued his work with NASA as a consultant until his beloved wife of 39 years, MaryAnn, passed away from pancreatic cancer. During this dark time, he was in contact with Rayma and Fred Hyatt as Fred also had cancer. MaryAnn and Fred would die within days of each other in February 1992. As the two grieving friends found comfort in communication and advice, a bond formed that led to the marriage of Robert and Rayma Hyatt in April 1993. Over the next 23 years, they would share their love of music, travel and family.

Robert was preceded in death by his parents, his brother and his first wife, MaryAnn. He is survived by his current wife, Rayma; his three children Ron (Sandra) Solis, Karen (Bob) Nimmo and Kim (Mike) Shapiro; his four step-children Donald (Margaret) Hyatt, Susan (Robert) Heider, Robin (David) Hart, Christy (Jason) McLennan as well as nineteen grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Funeral services for Mr Bob will be held at First Baptist Church of Seabrook, 1506 Bayport Blvd (Hwy 146), Seabrook, TX 77586 at 1:30 pm, Dec 17, 2016. Visitation and viewing is at the church from 11:30am to 1:30 pm.

Interment will follow at Forest Park East in Webster.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the FBC Seabrook Building Fund “In Memory of Mr Bob” at the above address.