Howell Cobb III, 60, known to everyone as Chip, died and entered eternal life in Christ on Sunday, September 7, 2014, with his wife, Bonnie Balius Cobb, by his side. Chip was born in Houston, Texas, on August 26, 1954, to Howell Cobb and Torrance Chalmers Cobb. The family moved to Beaumont when Chip was a baby. A cradle Episcopalian, Chip was a member of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Beaumont, St. Clement’s Episcopal Church in El Paso, Texas, and St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Beaumont.
Chip graduated from Forest Park High School in 1972. He attended the University of Virginia as an Echols Scholar, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and Religion, graduating with High Distinction in 1976, and was invited to join Phi Beta Kappa. A Texas Longhorn fan from childhood on, Chip attended the University of Texas at Austin School of Law, where he was a member of Chancellors, Order of the Coif, Texas Law Review, was a Teaching Quizmaster, and graduated second in his class with a Doctor of Jurisprudence in 1979. Following his admittance to the Texas Bar, Chip served as the Briefing Attorney for Chief Justice Joe Greenhill of the Texas Supreme Court.
In addition to being admitted to the State Bars of Texas and New Mexico, Chip was admitted to the United States District Court for the Western, Eastern and Southern Districts of Texas, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth and Tenth Circuits, and the United States Supreme Court. He was Board Certified in both Civil Trial Law and Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and was a member of the Texas Bar Association, Jefferson County Bar Association, American Board of Trial Advocates since 1995, and a former member of the Texas Association of Defense Counsel and International Association of Defense Counsel.
Chip practiced law in El Paso, Texas, for over twenty years. Since 2003, Chip has been Senior Trial Counsel with the firm Germer PLLC in Beaumont.
Chip enjoyed reading, playing a challenging game of chess, engaging in witty repartee, and attending Texas Longhorn football games. His pride for and love of his children was his guiding purpose throughout his life.
Chip was welcomed to eternal life by his parents, Howell Cobb and Laetitia Torrance Chalmers Cobb. He is survived by his wife of almost twenty-five years, Bonnie; daughter, Nicole Cobb Voglewede and her husband Stephen Voglewede, of El Paso; daughter, Natalie Laetitia Cobb, of Chicago; son, James Howell Cobb, of Beaumont; son, Travis Alan Cobb, of Lake Charles; daughter, Torrance Elizabeth Cobb, of Beaumont; and son, Thomas Steven Cobb, of Beaumont; grandsons, Ian Agustín Voglewede and Elias Julian Voglewede, of El Paso; mother, Amelie Suberbielle Cobb, of Beaumont; sisters, Catherine Cobb Cook and her husband, David Cook, of Beaumont; Mary Ann Cobb Walton and her husband, Ray Walton, of Fredericksburg; Caroline Cobb Ervin and her husband, Jimmy Ervin, of Washington, D.C.; brothers, Thomas Hart Cobb and his wife, Farrah Cobb, of Beaumont and John Lamar Cobb and his wife, Monica Cobb, of Beaumont; brother-in-law, Glenn Alan Balius and his wife, Barbara Morgan Balius, of Houston; and numerous nieces and nephews. He is also survived by Evelina Ortega, of El Paso, the mother of his daughters, Nicole and Natalie.
A gathering of Chip’s family and friends will be Wednesday evening, September 10, 2014, from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m., at Broussard’s, 2000 McFaddin, Beaumont. Please join family and friends for a Celebration of Life on Thursday, September 11, 2014, at 4:00 p.m., at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 680 Calder, Beaumont with burial to follow at Forest Lawn Cemetery, 4955 Pine Street. A reception will follow in the St. Mark’s Fellowship Hall.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 680 Calder, Beaumont, Texas 77702 or to Harbor Hospice House, 2450 North Major Drive, Beaumont, Texas 77713.
Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
