The Funeral services celebrating the life of Mr. Robert "Bob" House, 79, of Enid are pending under the direction of Brown-Cummings Funeral Home.
The Memorial service for Mr. Robert “Bob’ House, 79, of Enid will be held at 2:00 P.M. Friday September 23, 2016 in St. Mathew’s Episcopal Church, with the Rev. Dr. John Toles officiating. Military Rites will be conducted by the U.S. Marine Corps. Services are under the direction of Brown-Cummings Funeral Home.
An open viewing will be held through the morning of Friday September 23, 2016 in Brown- Cummings Funeral Home.
The House family lost its beloved patriarch, Robert Eugene House, who died suddenly
on September 16, 2016. He was 79. A brilliant and resourceful man, fair and forthright with everyone he met, Bob will be best remembered for his caustic wit, his generosity, and his tireless commitment to his family and his community. No kinder or more talented soul than this steadfast husband, father, and businessman is easily imagined.
Bob House was born in Grandview, Missouri on Jan 2, 1937. He graduated from Classen High School in Oklahoma City in 1954 and majored in History at the University of Oklahoma, where he married his beloved wife, Sue Stein House, and graduated in 1958, a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. He then served as a captain in the United States Marine Corps Reserve and was honorably discharged in 1967.
In 1961, he became a staff assistant in the advertising department of Proctor and Gamble in Fort Worth, Texas. He soon ended up at Tracy-Locke Inc., an advertising and marketing firm in Dallas, Texas, becoming, at 34 years of age, the youngest officer to attain the position of vice-president in the company’s history. In 1973, he became Vice-President of Harry’s Fountain Supply Co., in Dallas. In 1977, he acquired the 7-Up Bottling Co., and A & B Distributor in Enid, Oklahoma. He performed as President and CEO of H& B Distributing Company, as it was henceforth known, for 25 years.
Having grown up poor, Bob contributed lavishly to political causes and foundations devoted to social justice. He didn’t hesitate to call out exploitation or political chicanery, writing in 1995, for instance, to Sen. James Inhofe on behalf of the working poor, that he found Inhofe’s political rhetoric surrounding welfare reform “contemptible.” Bob continued: “The obvious perception is that we are simply going to punish the less fortunate and older members of our society . . . [because] they are simply too old and no longer entitled to human dignity.” In short, he took the Gospels seriously and so paid no respect to those who abused their fellow man for personal gain.
In an editorial during the sweltering summer of 19--, the Enid Daily News called attention to one of Bob’s many acts of generosity: “The latter part of July, one sweltering summer when the blistering heat was bearing down on us and elderly poor people were dying in their homes, House donated 200 fans to Enid’s needy to help them live with the stifling heat.”
About this, one of the largest contributions in Eldercare’s history at the time, Bob said:
“I just got tired of reading . . . about poor people dying in their homes. I just said, “Somebody needs to do something.” And, of course, without hesitation, Bob House did just that.
These are two small but characteristic gestures in a life of many such gestures too numerous to mention here. Others should be noted: his service as Chairman of the Oklahoma Malt Beverage Association in 1982; his induction, with his wife, Sue, into the OU Quarter Century Club, honoring donors for more than a quarter century of support;
his establishment, upon Sue’s death, of the Sue Stein House Memorial Endowed Scholarship in the Jeanine Rainbolt College of Education at the University of Oklahoma.
Robert House was predeceased by his wife, Sue, who died in March 2016. He is survived by his son, Robert E. House, Jr. and his wife, Denise, of Norfolk, Virginia, and by his other son, Kyle House and his wife Carrie and their children, his grandchildren, Trent and Tessa, of Flagstaff, Arizona.
In lieu of flowers, Bob preferred that donations be made to the Sue Stein House Memorial Endowed Scholarship in the Jeanine Rainbolt College of Education with Brown-Cummings serving as custodian of the funds.
Dear Bob, you never failed to love, cherish, and protect us. You gave of yourself so generously, and we so cherish your memory and grieve. Semper Fi. Dear father, farewell.
Online condolences may be made to the family at www.Brown-Cummings.com
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