Obituary of Fernando Frances Birch

Fernando "Fred" Frances Birch July 02, 1926 - February 10, 2013 Fernando Frances Birch (Fred) , age 86, of Houston, passed away Sunday February 10, 2013. He was born on July 2, 1926 to Elmo and Ruth Birch. Fred attended Granite High School in Salt Lake City, Utah before attending the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston where he earned a Masters Degree in Chemical Engineering. He was a member of MENSA, an avid traveler and a devoted husband and father. Fred’s engineering career took him all around the world and he passed his love of travel to all of his children. He was preceded in death by his wife, Gloria Ada, and his son, John Frances. He is survived byhis Wife Virginia Birch, sons, James Michael Birch and wife Monette and Thomas Patrick Birch and wife Anne; daughters Patricia Lynne and husband Lt. Col (ret.) Ronald Dyches, Kathleen Mary and husband Daniel Connolly, and Mary Elizabeth and husband Timothy Doyle, 13 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren. Fred’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren were the lights of his life and they will miss their Papa very much. Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 1 PM, Tuesday February 12 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in LaPorte, Texas. For those desiring, memorial contributions may be made in Fred’s memory to the American Cancer Society.