Obituaries

Delbert Darrell Smithey, Jr passed away on May 6, 2021 at the age of 71 after a short battle with cancer. His son dutifully cared for him during these last weeks of his life. Darrell was a lifelong resident of Aransas Pass and knew the local waterways as well as anyone. A lover of the outdoors he spent most of his adult life working the local bays as a commercial shrimper and crabber. He also loved geology and amassed quite a collection of stones and geodes as well as much knowledge on the subject. He had been known to make jewelry pieces from some of the gems he came across. Throughout his life he had owned an auto parts store, a Texaco station, a gym and built many shrimp boats for himself and others through his business Smithey’s Bay Boats. After graduating from American School, he was self-taught in these various ventures and in the construction trades. He was most proud of his son whom he raised as a single father doing everything, he could to provide for him.

George Edward Kain was called home to be with his Lord on May 2, 2021. George was born June 8, 1936, in Old Gulf, Texas to George and Annie Shelby Kain. He was the youngest of four children. The three oldest were all girls. George attended grades one through six at Matagorda Elementary School. After sixth grade, students were bussed the twentysix miles to Bay City. He graduated from Bay City High School in May 1954. After graduation, he attended Texas A&I University, graduated with a BS in Chemical Engineering in 1958 and the following year received his MS in Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering. After completing his education, George went to work for Phillips Petroleum Company in Sweeny, Texas. In 1967 he quit, bought his first gulf shrimp boat, and worked out of Aransas Pass. In 1968, he and Barbara were married, and he hired a captain to run the boat and went to work for Coastal States Petrochemical in Corpus Christi where he was Operations Manager. In 1975 he had a new boat built and took a six-month leave of absence to run it(at one time he was the owner of four and one-half boats). He returned to the Coastal States and after a time he took an engineering position with Tejas Gas Corporation. In June 1979 he started work for the company which would become Valero Refining Company. George held several management positions with Valero and at the time of his retirement in 2008, he was Senior Vice President & General Manager. His job was to plan and direct the refinery operations to maximize refinery complex reliability and efficiency, as well as meet marketing product needs. At the time of his retirement, Valero owned thirteen refineries. George was a member of Professional Engineers for the states of Texas Louisiana. He was also a member of the National and Coastal Bend AICHE. During his time in Corpus Christi, George was very involved with community activities. He was a Board member of the Economic Development Corporation, and a Board member of the Port Industries of Corpus Christi. George served as a Board member of the United Way of the Coastal Bend, he was President-Elect, President, Campaign Chairman, and served on the Executive Committee and Board of Governors. He served as a Board member of the Corpus Christi Business Alliance, was a member of the Valero Volunteer Council, was a Board member of the Board of Trade-Port of Corpus Christi, Board member of the Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce, and was a member and served on the USO committee. George served as Vice President of the Refinery Terminal Fire Company and was a Board member of the Port of Corpus Christi. George worked closely with Mayor Mary Rhodes to make the Mary Rhodes pipeline a reality and supply water to Corpus Christi and the surrounding areas. At his retirement party, he was given the key to the City of Corpus Christi by Mayor Henry Garrett. He and Barbara were voted as the Outstanding Citizens of the Year in Aransas Pass in 2007. George was inducted into the Engineering Hall of Fame at A&MKingsville in 2018. George made many friends while working at Valero among the employees and contract workers. He loved them all and appreciated all the hard work they did “which he said made him look good”. George is survived by his wife of 53 years, Barbara; Two children: Nancy Kain Henderson (husband Gary) and John Kain (wife Jo Ann); four grandchildren: Jessica Henderson Hoerster (husband Samuel), Curtis George Henderson, John Kain Jr, and Erick Reyes. Two great-grandchildren which are the loves of his life: Jordan Hoerster and Caleb Hoerster. We would also like to mention nephew. Dr. Wayne Brueggen, who he helped raise and thinks of as another son, and Debbie Stephens who he thinks of as another daughter, and numerous other family members.

Denise Haley Wagner, 67, daughter of the late Yvonne and Joe Haley, born on June 17, 1953 passed away peacefully in her home in Aransas Pass, TX on May 5, 2021.