John Sommer

John Ashley "Sambo" Sommer, 69, passed away March 15, 2012 at Methodist Hospital in San Antonio. Graveside services are scheduled for 10 a.m., Monday, March 19, 2012 at Friedens Cemetery in Washington. Reception will follow the graveside service at the Friedens Church Fellowship Hall. The family will receive friends and relatives Sunday evening from 4 until 7 p.m. at Memorial Oaks Chapel. John Ashley Sommer was born August 23, 1942 to Malinda and John Sommer in Washington, Texas. He was baptized February 7, 1943 and confirmed March 31, 1958 at Friedens United Church of Christ in Old Washington. He attended public school at Old Washington Elementary School and Brenham High School. He later attended Blinn Junior College where he played football and graduated from Texas A&M University with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. He married Gloria Jean Korth on December 19, 1964 in Salem Lutheran Church, Brenham. John "Sambo" Sommer worked 35 years in the pipeline and transmission industry and culminated his career as the V.P. and Director of Environmental Safety and Regulatory Compliance at Valero Energy Corporation. His closer friends will best remember Sambo for his love of hunting, fishing, and gambling. He hunted whitetail deer in Texas and Elk and Mule Deer in Colorado. He loved to fish the Texas coast. He began coastal fishing off the jetties and ultimately progressed to offshore fishing with the purchase of his first Boston Whaler boat in the early 1970''s. Sambo''s father, John Marion Sommer, taught him to hunt and fish, and Sambo passed those traditions down to his grandson and granddaughter through his sons. As with many in the Sommer family, Sambo enjoyed gambling, number games and crossword puzzles. It would not be uncommon to find Sambo at a greyhound racetrack, at a casino or in a convenience store with a large, watered-down coke and some scratch-off tickets. He was preceded in death by his wife, Gloria, on December 26, 1993. They had been married for 29 years. John was also preceded in death by sister, Maude Bess Sommer. Survivors include a son and his wife, John Ashley Jr. and Marilyn Sommer of San Antonio; son and his wife, Richard and Kelleigh Sommer of Bulverde; grandchildren Malinda "Lindy" Sommer and Samuel Sommer; sister and her husband, Susan and Neil McLaurin III; and nephew, Neil McLaurin IV. He is also survived by special friend, Mary Louise "Brownie" Hernandez. Funeral arrangements for John Ashley "Sambo" Sommer are entrusted to Memorial Oaks Chapel, 1306 W. Main, Brenham. To post a tribute to the family, visit www.memorialoakschapel.com.