Obituary of Maurice Edmund Brinkman

Maurice (Maury) Edmund Brinkman beloved husband, father, grandfather (12), great grandfather (1), brother, uncle, friend and servant of the Lord … Maury was preceded in death by his beloved Brigid in 2004. He is survived by his son Mark and wife, Teresa of Tomball, and their children Matthew of Dallas and Marie and husband, Sean Loew of Kansas; his son Dan and wife, Christy, and their children Adam and wife, Katie and great granddaughter Amelia of League City, Elizabeth and Zachary of Friendswood; his son Jack and wife, Rosina, and their children David, Sarah and Eileen of San Antonio and son Tim and wife, Valerie, and their children Julie, Ryan, Eric and Andrew of McKinney. Maury is preceded in death by 6 brothers and 2 sisters. He has over 40 nieces and nephews. He died on August 1, 2015. Maury was born in Hamilton, Ohio on January 17, 1934, the 10th of the 11 children of Leroy Brinkman and Estella Grewe Brinkman. Maury served in the U.S. Air Force from 1955 to 1958 as a radar systems specialist serving most of his tour at Ellington AFB in Houston. While in Houston he met his beloved Brigid at a dance at Sacred Heart Dominican College. Brigid and Maury married in 1959 and moved to Hamilton where Maury returned to continue his education at nearby Miami University where he earned a degree in Mathematics. After working 6 years for the US Naval Research Laboratory in Washington D.C. Maury and Brigid returned to Texas and settled in Pearland where they raised their family. Maury was very active in St. Helen Catholic Church. He and Brigid team-taught weekly religious education classes to Catholic senior high students and served in the Marriage Encounter Program and the Marriage Preparation instruction Program. He served as a Eucharist Minister and Lector, directed the church Blood Drive Program for 17 years, served on the Parish Council, Finance Committee and the Annual Bazaar. He was also active in the Pearland’s Boy Scouts, Little League Baseball and the Little Dribblers Basketball. Maury’s 40 year career in computing systems development began with his work at the US Naval Research Laboratory in Washington D.C. in 1961 and was followed by employment with Ford Aerospace and Lockheed where he directed the development of software systems to support NASA. From 1978 to his retirement in 1994 Maury was the Director of Information Systems and responsible for all of Lockheed Engineering and Management Services Company’s computing. 1994, Brigid and Maury retired and moved to Elkins Lake in Huntsville. Their retirement centered on the joy of their lives – the “Brinkman dozen” grandchildren. Time was also found for travel to see sights and make new friends in the US, England and Germany. Maury enjoyed golf, reading and woodworking. He was active in “making sawdust” for Habitat for Humanity and serving as both Eucharistic Minister and Lector at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Huntsville. His family extends its most heartfelt appreciation to all those who cared for him during the end of his time with us. In particular, we thank Dr. Mary Norman, dear friend and wonderful physician, who provided such excellent care while in Dallas; Louise Laczko of St. Michael the Archangel parish in McKinney, Texas who brought communion regularly and lifted his spirits; Laura Bobzien who visited her uncle faithfully while residing at Highland Springs; and Alison Mains, Alisia Jones and Vanessa Pelley who lovingly cared for “Mr. B” around the clock for over a year. These dear friends were clearly the hands and heart of Christ to him. The family will receive friends on Tuesday, August 4th 2015 from 5:30p.m. – 7p.m. in the sanctuary of St. Anne Catholic Church 1111 S. Cherry Main Street in Tomball. The Vigil for the Deceased Liturgy will start immediately at 7pm followed by a Rosary with Deacon Garry Janota officiating. A Funeral Mass of the Resurrection will be celebrated on Wednesday August 5th, 2015 at St. Helen Catholic Church, 2209 Old Alvin Rd in Pearland at 10:00a.m. with Father James Courville Celebrant. The Rite of Committal will follow at Resurrection Cemetery 1310 N. Main in Pearland. Pallbearers will be grandsons, Adam Brinkman, Matthew Brinkman, David Brinkman, Zachary Brinkman, Ryan Brinkman, Eric Brinkman, and Andrew Brinkman. Honorary Pallbearers are nephews, Jerry Scroggins, Jr., Danny Scroggins, Bill Dextraze, Ed Dextraze, Ben Warner, brother-in-law Jerry Scroggins, Sr., and friends, Ken Mills, Al Omelchuck, Bill Nunnery, Jr., Ed Finch, Paul Mugnier, and Marvin Morris. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Dominican Sisters, St. Dominic Convalescent Villa 6504 Almeda Rd. Houston, TX 77021, or to the American Lung Association.