Henry Milton Apperson

Henry Milton Apperson, 84, of Whitney, passed away Sunday, March 25, 2018 at his residence.

Celebration of Life Service: 2:00 PM Saturday, May 5, 2018 at Lake Shore Funeral Home Chapel.

Henry was born in 1933 on the Gulf Coast in Beaumont, TX to Thomas Jefferson and Mary Bush Apperson. He attended Nederland High School and received numerous high school academic and athletic awards. He was class president, a 4-H Gold Star winner, and also lettered in multiple sports. He was given the nickname “Whistle Britches” by his football coach, “Bum” Phillips.

Henry held a B.A. and M.A. in History from Baylor University. His professional career included serving churches in Texas and California as a Baptist Minister, a seismologist in offshore oil exploration, a flood control engineer in California, and developed a program of road relocation studies around Lake Waco in 1960-61 for the McLennan County Engineer.

Henry found his way to McLennan Community College in 1968, where he taught U.S. History and designed the first Geography course for MCC that same year. Henry was the “Voice of the Highlanders” broadcasting for over 25 years and often traveled with the teams to out of town games (including the JUCO Baseball World Series in Colorado).

Through MCC’s professional development program, Henry produced several volumes of work on the devastation of the New Orleans basin by Hurricane Katrina; chemical pollution from refineries in the Houston area; a hands-on study of the “Virginia Dynasty” of George Washington, James Monroe, and Thomas Jefferson; a visual presentation of his trip to the Berlin Wall a week after it was dismantled in November 1989. Henry involved his students in a project to research the West Fertilizer plant explosion. The 6 volume results were handed over to the First Baptist Church of West to be donated to the West City Library. He is also the author of the book “A History of West, Texas 1836-1920”.

Perhaps Henry’s favorite work was sharing the story of the excavation of the Steamboat Arabia, which sank in 1856 and was excavated in 1989. More than 200 tons of artifacts can now be seen at the Arabia Museum in Kansas City, Mo.

As an educator, Henry’s philosophy was simply “people are more important than things”. This was clearly demonstrated by many former students who kept in touch with him and MCC through regular communication. As a long-time fixture in the history department of MCC, he was inducted into the MCC Hall of Fame and retired in Aug of 2017 marking 49 years.

Some of Henry’s hobbies included playing golf at Bosque Valley Golf Course in Meridian and was an avid bass fisherman (once owning a fishing guide service). He was a season ticket holder for the Lady Baylor Bear basketball games; had a pilot’s license at one time and had a huge love for books. He was a member of the Whitney Masonic Lodge #355 A.F. & A.M..

He was preceded in death by his sister, Virginia Combs, brother, Tommy Apperson and sister-in-law, Marlene Neese Eubanks.

Henry is survived by his wife Darlene Pelham-Apperson; Daughters Shariett Lynn Apperson, Lora JaNelle Grimes and husband Rick; sons Corwin Scott Apperson and wife Jaki; Joseph Mitchell Apperson; Chad Pelham and Justin Towlsee. Sisters Jackie Hankins; Gayle Ingram and husband Homer; Beth Votaw and husband Dennis; Gloria Schroeder and husband Ron; Sister-in-law Sandy Apperson and Brother-in-law Milton Neese and wife Linda. Grandchildren; Angela Carroll; Eli Salem and wife Jane; Joshua Grimes and wife Alex; Marcus Grimes; Zakree Apperson and wife Brooke; Destini Pelham, Haleigh Deal and husband Jacob and Mason Pelham. Great grandchildren; George, Sarina, Reece, Charley, Gracie and Tinzleigh. “Adopted” daughter Kate McKee, her husband, Cris, and granddaughter, Gracie.