Ernest Britton Dawson, Jr.
1925-2020
Ernest Britton Dawson, Jr. was born on the 24th of May 1925, the only child of Pet and Zella Mae Dawson, a banker and a schoolteacher.
He grew up in the peaceful town of Dawson, Texas where he enjoyed school and learning to make things with tools and small town Texas life. The family later moved to nearby Corsicana, Texas so that Britt could attend high school as a Tiger. He enjoyed a great group of high school friends. In their senior year, he and a buddy lobbied the town from the pulpits of several of the churches in order to get permission for weekly dances in an episode that resembled the plot from the movie, Footloose, minus the fancy footwork.
Prior to joining the Navy during World War II, he attended Texas A&M for his freshman year, but after the war, he came back to The University of Texas and became a lifelong Longhorn fan. He met the love of his life, Charlotte Drennan at The University of Texas and after college, they returned to her hometown of Houston to start a life together.
He again served in the military during the Korean War, rising to the rank of Captain in the Air Force.
They were lifelong members of St. Luke's United Methodist Church from the time that the church met in the gym of Lamar High School and they were married in the chapel of St. John The Divine, which was used for special occasions, while St. Luke's was being built. St. Luke's remained an important focus of their lives and he served the church in various roles over the next forty years including the highest position that could be held by a layman.
They built a house on Lynbrook and raised three sons in an ideal neighborhood of the 50's/60's and 70's. He enjoyed working at Trunkline Natural Gas, which became Panhandle Eastern for most of his work career and enjoyed a farm in Brenham and a ranch in Bastrop on weekends.
After retiring in 1990, they moved to Lakeway. Once there, they enjoyed time at the ranch, traveling and watching life on the lake from their porch. They embraced the Lakeway Church and were instrumental in its growth. He served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees and was viewed by all to be a selfless leader.
Friendly to all who met him, and a gifted problem solver, he will be sincerely missed.
The family is grateful to his family of friends in Lakeway and Temple and especially, Katherine Myers.
Preceded in death by his parents, Ernest Britton and Zella Mae Dawson; his wife of sixty years, Charlotte Drennan Dawson; and youngest son, Neal Embry Dawson. Survived by his sons Richard Parker Dawson of Houston; Thomas Britton Dawson and wife, Susan Owen Dawson of Austin; and two grandchildren, Emily Catherine Dawson of Dallas, and William Britton Dawson of Houston.
An interment service is to be conducted at ten o'clock in the morning on Saturday, the 29th of February, at Glenwood Cemetery, 2525 Washington Avenue in Houston, where Rev. Bill Denham, Pastor of Caring Ministries, is to officiate. Following the interment, all are invited to greet the family during a reception at a venue to be announced during the service.
Lakeway friends are invited to an informal gathering and celebration of Britt's life at half-past four o'clock in the afternoon until half-past six o'clock in the evening on Saturday, the 7th of March, at his residence in Lakeway, Texas.
In lieu of customary remembrances, memorial contributions in Mr. Dawson's memory may be directed to St. Luke's United Methodist Church, PO Box 22013, Houston, TX, 77227-2013; or to The Lakeway Church, 2203 Lakeway Blvd., Lakeway, TX 78734.
Please visit Mr. Dawson's online tribute page at GeoHLewis.com where memories and words of comfort and condolence may be left electronically for his family.