HOUSTON, Texas — William J. Emrich Sr. of Houston, Texas, died on Aug. 25, 2009, at his home from kidney failure. William, known as Bill to all (and Billy to those from his youth), was the loving husband to Mary Louise and father to sons Bill Jr. and Charles, who were together with him when he passed. He was 83.

Bill was born in Dallas, Texas, on Sept. 14, 1925, to Sam and Janet Emrich. He attended public schools through high school and graduated from Highland Park High School in 1941. He then briefly attended Texas A&M before transferring to the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied civil engineering. His time at UT was interrupted during his junior year when he was called into the military, serving in the Army in the Philippines during the end of World War II. After the war, he returned to Austin to complete his degree in 1947 and then continued his studies, earning a graduate civil engineering degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1948. Bill displayed academic excellence at both universities, earning membership in the Chi Epsilon, Tau Beta Pi and Sigma Xi honorary engineering societies.

Bill’s first job was at Waterways Experiment Station in Vicksburg, where he met Mary Louise. They were married on Aug. 4, 1950. Shortly after, Bill’s 434th Army Reserve battalion was called up to serve in the Korean conflict. The day after their first Christmas together, he left for South Korea. While there, his first son, Bill Jr., was born on May 19, 1951. After a year and a half of rebuilding bridges and roads, Bill was honorably discharged from the Army as a first lieutenant and returned to Vicksburg to continue his civilian life in 1952.

Not long after returning, Bill left Vicksburg with his young family to join the engineering firm of Fay, Spofford and Thorndike to build turnpikes in West Virginia and Massachusetts. After three years of cold weather, Bill returned to the South to work for Palmer and Baker in Mobile, Ala., where he was named vice president of its southern laboratory division. While in Mobile, he and Mary Louise had their second son, Charles, on Aug. 25, 1957.

In 1962, Bill began working for McClelland Engineers out of Houston, Texas. His first assignment was to open a new office in New Orleans as manager of the Louisiana division and, in 1964, he was promoted to company vice president. After growing the business in New Orleans for 15 years, he was transferred to the McClelland corporate office in Houston as senior vice president of operations. During this time, he helped guide the company through a turbulent economy and a successful merger with Fugro Corporation of the Netherlands. In addition, he was a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and served on the board of the Offshore Technology Conference from 1981 until 1983. Bill finally retired as president of Fugro-McClelland Inc. on Dec. 31, 1992.

During retirement, Bill and Mary Louise enjoyed spending time with family and particularly having their grandchildren visit and watching them grow. He and Mary Louise also enjoyed traveling in the United States and abroad, or just being with friends at home. Bill was a member of Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church and the Petroleum Club of Houston.

Bill is survived by his wife, Mary Louise; son, Bill Jr. and his wife, Lady, from Huntsville, Ala., and son, Charles from Houston. In addition, he is survived by grandson, Joshua Emrich and his wife, Lisa, of Grapevine, Texas, and by his granddaughter, Rebekah Emrich Wharton and her husband, David, from Birmingham, Ala. He was preceded in death by his parents, Sam and Janet Emrich; and by his grandson, Ethan Emrich.

Services will be held at Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church on Monday, Aug. 31, at 11 a.m. Following the services in Houston, the family will travel to Vicksburg for interment services at Cedar Hill Cemetery. Graveside services will be at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday at Cedar Hill Cemetery under the direction of Riles Funeral Home.

Donations may be made to Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church or to the charity of your choice.