Wilbert Horstmann

Wilbert Horstmann of Brenham, known to many as Horse or Uncle Wilbert, was called home to be with our Lord on March 19, 2013. Funeral services are scheduled for 10 a.m., Friday, March 22, 2013 at St. John Lutheran Church of Prairie Hill, with Pastor David Hansen officiating. Burial will follow in Prairie Lea Cemetery. Visitation will be from 5 until 7 p.m., Thursday evening at Memorial Oaks Chapel. Born on November 4, 1924 to Johanna and William Horstmann in the William Penn community, he was the youngest of 12 children. At age 4, he lost his father and was raised by his mother, his older brother and sisters. Wilbert was baptized into the Lutheran faith at his William Penn home on his mother''s birthday on Jan. 21, 1925. He was also confirmed at the William Penn Lutheran Church. While attending Brenham High School, Wilbert was an outstanding running back on the exceptional 1942 Brenham Cub football team, the high school''s only un-defeated and untied football team, whose record still stands today. Wilbert''s high school education and his athletic gifts were cut short by World War II. Wilbert was drafted and served in the 20th Army Air Force where he sailed around the world on a Navy troop ship. While serving as a Military Police officer in North Africa, India, and Australia, he concluded his service in the Tinian Islands where he helped guard the B-29 airplane, the Enola Gay, which dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Wilbert returned to Brenham and attended Blinn College where he helped organize Blinn''s first baseball team and served as team captain. He graduated from Blinn College and was a lifetime member of the Ex-Student Association. While at Blinn, Wilbert met and married Hazel Wagner of Shelby, Texas. Wilbert spend the next 35 years with the Texas Department of Public Safety where he worked as a Texas Highway Patrol Officer. He served his first year in Three Rivers, and the remaining 34 years in Hallettsville. During this time, Hazel and Wilbert raised three children. He was actively involved in numerous civic organizations in Hallettsville. He served as President of the St. Peters Lutheran Church, President of the Lions Club, Commander of the VFW, Commander of the Disabled American Veterans, President of the Booster Club, Manager of the Hallettsville Little League and the Babe Ruth League. He coached his sons in the Little League and Teenage League and his son, Gary, was drafted and played MLB for the Montreal Expos. In 1977, Wilbert was inducted into the South Central Semi-Baseball Hall of Honor. Upon retirement in 1983, Wilbert and Hazel moved to Brenham to be with their family and old friends. At this time Wilbert joined the Texas Rangers Special Detachment where he continued to serve his state until he relinquished his credentials in 2008. On May 9, 1988, Hazel preceded Wilbert in death. Finding the love of his life the second time, Wilbert remarried on Sept. 22, 1990 to Hilda Schroeder in the Prairie Hill Lutheran Church. In 2002, Wilbert was inducted into the Brenham Football Hall of Honor with his children and wife at his side. Wilbert was active in the Brenham community where he took great pride in his 57 years of perfect attendance in the Hallettsville and the Brenham Lions Clubs. He was a member of the St. John Lutheran Church of Prairie Hill, a member of the Sons of Hermann, the American Legion, and Commander of the VFW and Disabled American Veterans in Brenham. Wilbert is preceded in death by his first wife Hazel Wagner Horstmann, his father and mother William and Johanna Horstmann, his son-in-law Michael Myers and all eleven of his siblings. Wilbert is survived by his wife Hilda Schroeder Horstmann, son and daughter-in- law Gary and Nancy Horstmann of Rosenberg, and their children Tara Horstmann Faith, her husband Jay and children Wade and Koleton of Fulshear, and Jennifer Horstmann McCorkle, her husband Joe, and daughter Kenlee of Katy, son and daughter-in-law Glenn and Barbara Horstmann of Taylor, daughter Susan Myers of Pearland, step-sons and step-daughters-in-law Tyrus and Sharon Schroeder and their children Micheal, Daniel, and Kirsten of New Braunfels, Alan and Leslie Schroeder and son Zachery of Pearland, and numerous nieces and nephews. Funeral arrangements for Wilbert Horstmann are entrusted to Memorial Oaks Chapel, 1306 W. Main, Brenham. To post a tribute to the family, visit www.memorialoakschapel.com.