| Bill was born on the Howard farm five miles northwest of Gouldbusk
(see Alvis P. and Ximena Howard),
December 1, 1913. Bill attended Starkweather Elementary School through
the 8th grade, and the Voss High School through the 10th grade. He
finished the 11th grade at Gouldbusk, and graduated from Howard Payne in
May of 1939 with a BA degree and a major in Mathematics and Science.
During Bill’s stay in Howard Payne College, he met and dated Opal Eugenia
(born on a farm at Waxahachie, November 10, 1918 to Vera McDonald and W.
Guy Martin). Opal attended elementary and High School in Waxahachie
and graduated from High School in 1936. After graduating from Howard
Payne, Bill was employed as Mathematics and Science teacher in the Axtell
High School, was also Principal, and Basketball Coach; Opal taught in the
Elementary School at Otto. At the end of this school year, Opal and
Bill were united in marriage June 1, 1940 at Prairie Hill. The wedding
ceremony took place outside in the moonlight.
In December of 1943 Bill accepted a position with the Philco Television
Engineering Department in Philadelphia, a Design Engineer working on the
“Block” Air-Borne Television Project for three armed services, conducted
by the Office of Scientific Research and Development. Toward the
end of World War II, Bill worked with a team of television engineers in
designing and building television cameras for football and studio broadcasts.
On March 15, 1946, Bill reported to work in New York City as a Development
Engineer for NBC. The family bought their first house in Mineola,
New York, on Long Island.
The family moved to Parma, Ohio, in the spring of 1950. While
here Opal resumed her teaching career in the Parma Elementary Schools teaching
fourth grade, and also continuing her education at Western Reserve University
and completing her Bachelor of Science Degree from Howard Payne College
in 1953. In 1953, Bill was promoted to the position of Supervisor
of Technical Operations for WNBK and WTAM, NBC’s Radio and Television Stations
in Cleveland, Ohio.
For 18 years prior to Bill’s retirement, he was a member of the “RCA
Engineer” Editorial Staff, a technical publication for the RCA Engineers.
In 1974 Bill was honored and given a “Distinguished Alumnus Award” from
Howard Payne College, Brownwood. Opal retired from public school
teaching in July of 1975 after 29 years of teaching, and Bill retired from
NBC January 1979 after 32 years of service. They moved to Austin,
at that time to their retirement home in Western Oaks.
Their daughter, Charlotte Larue, born March 19, 1941, received her Degree
in Music from Baylor University and also has her Masters in Music from
New York University. She is married to George Grantier. William
Michael, born January 22, 1945, holds a Bachelor of Science and Master’s
Degrees in Nuclear Physics from Baylor University. He also holds
a Master’s Degree and a Doctorate Degree in Astro-Physics from Rice University.
For the last several years he has served as a Research Astro-Physicist
in the Lawrence Livermore Laboratories in California, where he lives with
his wife, Magdalen (Mak) Howard.
(Image to be added)
William A. (Bill) Howard at NBC Television, New York, 1972
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