Mostly clear. Low 69F. Winds light and variable..
Mostly clear. Low 69F. Winds light and variable.
Robert Kirk Gregory, 91 years old, passed away on February 25, 2022 surrounded by his loving family and close friends. In the early evening, after a short illness, he went to be with his Heavenly Father and those loved ones who have gone before.
Kirk was born December 31,1930 in San Angelo, Texas to William David Gregory and Lloys Ward Gregory. He is survived by his wife, Rosemarie Leissner Gregory, and his two daughters, Kathryn Gregory-Fiala (Paul Fiala) of Swisher, Iowa, and Terri Gregory Brotze (Gary Brotze) of New Braunfels; by his six grandchildren, Kirsten and Becki Brotze, Jason (Mary), Austen (Amanda), Bryan (Maggie) and Nathan Fiala, and by 6 great-grandchildren, Madison, Vivian, Esme, Allison, Elijah, and Bryson Fiala. He is also survived by his beloved 1st cousins Kay Gaines, Jack Gaines (Rose), Mary Jo Mason (Bill), and Albert Ward (Cynthia), and many other cousins, nieces, and nephews.
Kirk is preceded in death by his parents David and Lloys Gregory of Boerne, Tx and brothers, Ward and Phillip Gregory and by his In-Laws, A.J. and Nelrose Leissner, of New Braunfels, and his nephew, John Gregory Leissner, of Houston, Texas.
Kirk had a successful and satisfying career as a structural engineer and earned much professional recognition. He has been a Registered Professional Engineer in Texas since 1957. Kirk was an expert in concrete construction, formwork, and foundations. He was a member in the American Concrete Institute and served on the ACI Formwork and Architectural Concrete Committees as Chairman. He authored multiple contributions to engineering textbooks and field manuals. Kirk held 3 US Patents and is listed in the 1980 edition of Who’s Who in American Inventors. He was the Founder and President of Kirk Gregory Engineering of New Braunfels, Texas which has served our community for four decades.
He was a member of First Protestant Church. He served many years as a Bible Study Fellowship Leader and was a member of many service organizations: Friends for the Preservation of Historic Landa Park, the New Braunfels Conservation Society, the Heritage Society, Sophienburg Museum and Archives, Wurstfest Association for 10 years, and Rotary International in both New Braunfels and Barrington, Illinois. He was a contributing member of the Book Team that created the book New Braunfels Historic Landa Park, Its Springs and its People.
Kirk’s early life was spent in Fredericksburg, Texas until his father’s business in the oil industry transferred the family to West Texas. Kirk was the son who enjoyed going with his dad on daily business jaunts and became known as “Buddy” to his father, because he was his father’s pal. Kirk’s mother, Lloys, was the first woman to letter in a sport at Baylor University. She received her Baylor “B” for her tennis prowess. Wherever they lived, Kirk’s father always made sure that Lloys had a tennis court nearby. And she taught Kirk to play. Kirk enjoyed tennis and particularly enjoyed playing tennis with his mother, and in later years, his daughters. Kirk attended McCamey High School in McCamey, Texas and graduated as Salutatorian. He played both quarterback and running back positions for the high school football team, the McCamey Badgers, and he especially admired his football coach who taught that “It is not whether you win or lose, it is how you play the game that counts”.
Kirk graduated with honors in Engineering from the University of Texas where he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon (DKE) fraternity and the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society.
On June 9, 1951, he met the love of his life, Rosemarie Leissner, who was attending the Texas State College for Women (now Texas Woman’s University) in Denton Texas. They were introduced by college friends Frank Williams and Barbara Harwell in San Antonio. Blind date! Kirk and Rosie were engaged the following December and married August 30, 1952, in the same week following their summer graduations from college. The wedding was held at First Protestant Church with a joyous reception following at the Leissner home. Their honeymoon was spent en route to University of Illinois in Champagne-Urbana, where Kirk began his graduate studies in Structural Engineering on scholarship at the top structural engineering program in the country. It was an exciting two years at the University of Illinois. Kirk earned a Master of Science in Engineering on June 20, 1954 and graduated with honors and was inducted into the Society of Sigma Chi devoted to the promotion of scientific research.
The Korean War was on-going in 1954. Following his graduation, Kirk went to the US Naval Officer Candidate School (OCS) in Newport, Rhode Island, and was commissioned a US Navy Ensign and assigned to the Long Beach Naval Shipyard in California in 1954. Kirk and Rosemarie, and their brand-new baby daughter Kathy, moved to California to begin their Navy adventure. Their 2nd daughter Terri was born in San Pedro, California in 1957.
Kirk served in the US Navy Civil Engineer Corp until 1957, and then the US Naval Reserve for a total of 10 years, attaining the rank of Lt. Commander. Following his Naval Duty, Kirk moved the family back to Texas and enjoyed working at Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio for 10 years. While he was helping to raise his young family, he began his post-graduate work in Advanced Engineering Doctoral studies at Trinity and St. Mary’s University. In 1971, Kirk accepted a leadership role as Director of Engineering at Symons Manufacturing in Des Plaines, Illinois, and enjoyed the many challenging projects for 18 years. The family lived in Barrington, Illinois during that time.
In 1983, Kirk brought his family back to New Braunfels, Texas and founded Kirk Gregory Engineering.
Following Christian principles was the way he was brought up and continued throughout his life. He and Rosie were charter members of Oak Hills Presbyterian in San Antonio, while Kirk was working at Southwest Research Institute. He served as head of the Session and saw to preparations for each Sunday service. Kirk along with his wife started a Mariners Couples group that met monthly for fellowship meals. Kirk and Rosie were the first Senior High Youth Group sponsors and met with the teenagers on Sunday evenings for supper and discussions. They expanded the group by encouraging the teens to bring their school friends to learn about the love of Christ.
Years later, upon their return to New Braunfels and First Protestant Church, Kirk was on the Stewardship Committee with Lois Swander. Kirk was very involved in the engineering of the new Family Life Center, and the Walk of Faith Garden, giving his time and expertise as a gift to his Church. He also assisted with the publication of the book about First Protestant Church’s history, A Journey in Faith.
Bible Study Fellowship captured Kirk’s heart. He never missed a meeting and he very much appreciated Don Miller’s leadership. Together they studied scripture and shared their faith with many others and Kirk made some lifelong friends. Sunday evenings were his time to contact each member of his group about the upcoming week’s lesson. As time went by, the members of the original group met each Friday morning for breakfast and annually for a Christmas celebration at the Gregory home.
Kirk’s greatest legacy is his family, his wife, his daughters and his many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. It all began with a marriage that was a true loving commitment that remained through their almost 70 years together. They lived by the same Christian principles and had a strong partnership.
When asked in an interview what he was most proud of in his long life, Kirk responded that he was most proud of his two daughters. And his two daughters certainly admired and adored him. Kathy and Terri had a happy life with many learning opportunities in a home with a huge backyard where their friends and family were always welcome. The Gregorys traveled a lot as a family together, with many trips to visit grandparents and to Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, New Mexico in the summer. These trips included visits to Santa Fe and Taos and numerous Native American Reservations and Pueblos and historic sites. They also visited friends in California and went camping in Rocky Mountain National Park. They took good advantage of the many local and San Antonio attractions and opportunities, too. There are many great stories of pets and projects in this family.
Kirk really admired his grandchildren, and he took his job as a grandparent seriously. He and Rosie spent many happy hours with their grandchildren. Kirk taught them each to swim, taught them to pray, to be honest and kind, and to work hard. He planned great adventures with his grandchildren. Kirk and Rosie made many trips to piano recitals and volleyball games and loved being with the Brotze girls. They drove the many miles to Iowa to visit the Fiala boys and enjoyed many band concerts and show choir performances or watching them play football or wrestle or play tennis. Kirk, aka Papa, spent many summer hours floating around the Schlitterbahn Crystal River with his grandchildren, or swimming in the Comal River, or just splashing in the backyard pool. He built a treehouse with them in a backyard oak tree. He took them to Galveston and Padre Island to play on the beach and drove across the USA to volleyball tournaments and to visit Mount Rushmore with the children. Kirk and Rosie were dedicated grandparents and each grandchild and great-grandchild has been positively impacted by Kirk’s loving attention and guidance.
Kirk’s Family would like to thank you for sharing this journey with us. Our Papa will be truly missed.
The Family invites you to join them for a Celebration of Kirk’s Life at Doeppenschmidt Funeral Home in New Braunfels, Texas on Friday, March 4, 2022 at 2pm.
Visitation with the Family will be Thursday, March 3, 2022 at Doeppenschmidt Funeral Home in New Braunfels, Texas from 5pm to 7pm.
A Family Burial Ceremony will follow the Celebration of Life Service on Friday at Hill Country Memorial Gardens on Hwy 46W.
Memorials for Kirk may be gifted to First Protestant Church in New Braunfels, Friends for the Preservation of Historic Landa Park, the New Braunfels Conservation Society, the Heritage Society, Sophienburg Museum and Archives, or the charity of your choice. Thank you.
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