Ernest Allen Wilpitz

ERNEST ALLEN WILPITZ, 85, of Brookshire, passed away Thursday, June 3, 2010, in a Brookshire nursing facility. Born in Brookshire/Pattison, Texas, to Ernest William "Billy" Wilpitz and Daisy Patty Wilpitz, Ernest lived a long and full life as a husband, father and architect, spending much of it residing in Houston. In 2002, he returned to Brookshire, living in a new home that he designed and had built on the property where he was born. He was always proud of his family's long history in the area (they arrived in the mid-1850's) and enjoyed actively contributing to it. Ernest's touch remains and can be seen in the architecture of many local schools, churches and private homes throughout Houston, Katy, Brookshire and the surrounding areas. Ernest is survived by his wife of 63 years: Mary'O Thompson Wilpitz (originally from Katy, Texas); and daughters: Nan Hartman and husband, Ralph Hartman, of Cuero, Texas, Michele Dial and husband, Gary, of Katy, Texas, and Laura Pankonien and husband, Kyle, of Austin, Texas. He is also survived by his grandchildren: Jessica, Hannah and Forrest Hartman, Corkey and Parker Dial, and Blake and Leigh Pankonien. Life led Ernest to Baylor and Texas Tech universities, the U.S. Air Force, and eventually to form Winters & Wilpitz Architects. An avid fisherman, he frequented the coastal waters of Texas, especially in the Fulton/Rockport area, where he very much enjoyed the search for trout and redfish. He contributed many years to the Methodist Room to Grow Program and to the Houston Cerebral Palsy Center. Ernest and Mary'O have been life-long members of, and contributors to, the United Methodist Church. Family will be present to receive friends from 4:00 P.M. - 7:00 P.M., Sunday, June 6, 2010, at the Schmidt Funeral Home in Brookshire. A celebration of Ernest's life will be held Monday, June 7, 2010, at 1:30 P.M., at the First United Methodist Church of Brookshire with Pastor Dottie Dumas officiating. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Ernest's name to either the First United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 397, Brookshire, TX 77423, Resolutions Hospice, 21720 Kingsland Blvd., Suite 304, Katy, TX 77450, or to the Houston Area Parkinson's Society, 2700 Southwest Frwy., Houston, TX 77098-4607.