Thomas Menn

Thomas Earl Menn passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday, May 27th, 2025, at Methodist Hospital - Houston Medical Center in Houston, Texas, at the age of 82 years, 2 months, and 27 days.

Thomas Earl Menn was born on March 1st, 1943, in Burton Hospital, Burton, Texas, as the only child to Ernst Reinhardt Menn and Luetta Gerda (née Weber) Menn. He grew up farming with his parents on their farm of cows, chickens, mules, hogs, corn, cotton, and a garden of fresh vegetables and fruits. Tom enjoyed fishing and plinking, attended Round Top-Carmine Elementary and graduated from Round Top-Carmine High School in 1961. His numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins were always nearby in the Round Top, Carmine, Brenham, and Shelby areas in the Fayette County, Washington County, and Austin County area. He attended Blinn Junior College in Brenham, Texas, from 1962 to 1963, then attended The University of Texas at Austin from 1963 to 1966, and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering on January 1, 1966. During his time on The Forty Acres, Tom began as a student member of The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and began attending Texas Longhorns college football team games that would become one of his lifelong passions. He became a Life Member of the Texas Ex-Students' Association in 1967.

He began working as a chemical engineer when he was hired by Sinclair Oil Corporation in 1966, working in their Houston Refinery on the Houston Ship Channel in Houston, Texas, straight out of college. He was recognized as an Outstanding Young Chemical Engineer by the South Texas Section of AIChE in the 1970s. He earned the position as Principal Chemical Engineer and worked for over 37 years for 4 companies (Sinclair Oil Corporation, Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO), Lyondell Petrochemical Company, and Lyondell-Citgo Petrochemical Company) all while working in the same building. He worked in a variety of engineering, design, operations, and design activities.

Tom began attending the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) at the Astrodomain (now NRG-domain) in Houston in 1970. As AIChE is one of the OTC's sponsoring organizations, he organized volunteer AIChE participation in the event from 1970 to 2025, in addition to personally volunteering in Arrangements, Proceedings, and Registration during that time.

In addition to being a Lifetime Member of AIChE, in recognition to his over 50 years of leadership roles, AIChE programming, and as an officer of the Fuels and Petrochemicals Division of the South Texas Section of AIChE, Tom was elected a prestigious national AIChE Fellow on November 6th, 2009. In reality, Tom Menn was the South Texas Section's ambassador. He devoted a lot of his heart and soul to making the South Texas Section a vibrant organization, and recognizing their outstanding members, young and old, with awards.

Tom was a season-ticket holder to Texas Longhorns college football games from 1967 to 2016 or so, and loved to tailgate with good food in anticipation of witnessing hard-fought Texas wins, and loved discussing the game afterwards.

Tom met, and after a whirlwind 3-months' courtship, then married the love of his life, Barbara Louise O'Brien, in Houston, Texas, on September 17th, 1970. Tom and Barbara's love, happiness, and friendship endured the rest of their lives together lovingly raising their 4 children.

Tom was also a farmer and carpenter (his father's trades), genealogist, plumber, auto mechanic, welder, electrician, roofer, painter, tailor (his mother's trade), landscaper, chef, griller, fisherman, hunter (rabbit, duck, and dove), tinkerer, and cocktail mixologist. He loved to eat steak anytime of the day, seafood, boiled hog leg-bones, sauerkraut, hamburgers, iced tea, barbecue beef, chicken, and sausage, peanut-brittle, Cheerios, fruitcake, and peanut-butter-and-honey-on-bread. He was immune to both poison ivy and poison oak. He loved science-fiction, astronomy, history, military history, woodworking, 24-hour-news TV and radio, and talk-radio. He loved reading sci-fi novels voraciously. He watched all the episodes of the numerous series of Star Trek and Babylon 5 franchises. He loved Superman, and he couldn't help but smile when watching episodes of Superman: The Animated Series.

He used his analytical and critical thinking skills that chemical engineers are imbued with to approach and solve any type of problem.

In about 2009, Tom arranged and constructed, with help from his sons and sons-in-law, a concrete foundation for cemetery monuments of his Weber family ancestors at Haw Creek Cemetery in Fayetteville, Texas. Tom was also the President of the Mayer Cemetery Association.

Tom is preceded in death by his parents, beloved wife Barbara Louise (née O'Brien) Menn, 2 grandchildren, Joshua Thomas Lambropoulos and Sophia Alexandra Menn, and is survived by his 2 daughters Lori Louise (Menn) Bruns (husband Scott) and Linda Lea (Menn) Rhodes (husband Graham) of Houston, Texas, and 2 sons, James William Menn of Round Rock, Texas, and Michael Steven Menn (wife Nora) of New Caney, Texas. His surviving grandchildren are: Samuel O'Brien Rhodes, Alexandra Lea Lambropoulos, Abigail Louise Rhodes, Zachary Constantino Lambropoulos, Marin Olivia Rhodes, Noah Samuel Lambropoulos, Luke Logan Lambropoulos, and Michael Thomas Menn.

He also survived by his uncle and aunt, Curvey and Jean Weber of Fredericksburg, Texas, and his uncle, Fred Weber of Austin, Texas, who will be age 101 on June 9th, 2025.

He is also survived by numerous cousins who loved him dearly.

Tom will be sorely missed by all that knew him.

Viewing will be held on Sunday, June 8, 2025, from 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM at Martin Luther Lutheran Church, 211 Luther Lane, Carmine, Texas. Family will receive friends at this time.

Funeral Services will follow at Martin Luther Lutheran Church of Carmine at 2:00 PM, Sunday, June 8, 2025, followed by a reception at the church, and then a graveside service at Mayer Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial tribute contributions may be made to:

• The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) website:

https://ecommerce.aiche.org/aiche-online/Donation/Home/Donation?setskin=giving&productid=564573531

https://www.aiche.org/giving/get-involved/donate-online/give-now

To make your tribute to Tom Menn, put "Thomas Earl Menn" in the "Name" field right next to the "Tribute Type" field on the "Donation Details" page.

• The Martin Luther Lutheran Church in Carmine, Texas, website:

https://mllccarmine.com/online-giving/

Flowers may be sent to, as well as funeral arrangements have been entrusted to, Memorial Oaks Chapel, 1306 West Main Street, Brenham, Texas, 77833. Family and friends can view and sign the guestbook online at https://www.memorialoakschapel.com.