Dr. Melvin F. Brust went home to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on March 26, 2007, at Alterra Assisted Living in New Braunfels, Texas. Melvin was born on March 23, 1923, in Wharton, Texas, to the late Reverend Paul G. Brust and Amanda Engelking Brust. He is survived by two sisters and one brother, Mildred Brust Haddick, Ethel Brust Lipscomb, and Orville Brust. Melvin is also survived by several loving nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews.
As the son of a Missouri Synod Lutheran minister, Melvin spent his boyhood years in many different towns in Texas, including Mercedes and Mannheim. Melvin graduated from Mercedes High School, where he was Valedictorian, in 1941, before attending Edinburg Junior College (EJC). After graduation from EJC, where he was again named Valedictorian, he was drafted into the United States Army in May of 1943. Melvin served in the Signal Corp on the front lines in the Philippines during World War II. After World War II he worked in the headquarters building with General Douglas MacArthur in Tokyo, Japan. Following his time in the military, Melvin enrolled in the University of Texas at Austin, where he received his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering in May of 1949, and his Master of Science in Electrical Engineering in June of 1951. Upon graduation, Melvin went to work in Ft. Worth for General Dynamics, which later became Lockheed. One of Melvin’s many accomplishments was that his team designed the Ground Avoidance Radar system for the F-111 fighter aircraft.
After working at General Dynamics for thirty-one years, Melvin decided to obtain a PhD from North Texas State, which he received in 1977. After obtaining his PhD, he became a professor at Lamar University in Beaumont. Melvin became a tenured professor in 1984, and was later named as a Professor Emeritus of Finance in 2005. Melvin was known by his students to be a very tough, but caring, professor in his twenty-seven years at Lamar. Not having children of his own, Melvin considered his students to be his children and sought every opportunity to ensure their success. On behalf of the students, he established and served as the faculty sponsor to the Lamar Chapter of the Financial Management Association and the Lamar Chapter of Sigma Iota Epsilon, national management honor fraternity. Melvin served as the faculty sponsor of the Lamar University Finance Association, co-sponsor of Students for Free Enterprise, and as advisor to students working with the Small Business Institute program for counseling area small businesses. Because of his outstanding dedication to the school, Melvin received the distinction of being named Professor of the Year for Lamar University. Due to health issues, Melvin finally retired from teaching at the age of 81 and moved to New Braunfels just prior to Hurricane Rita to be closer to family who could care for him.
Melvin was a member of many honor and professional organizations, including Tau Beta Pi, national engineering honor society; Eta Kappa Nu, national electrical engineering honor society; Sigma Iota Epsilon, Blue Key National Honor Society, and many other professional societies.
Funeral service will be 10:00 a.m. Friday, March 30, 2007 at Redeemer Lutheran Church with a graveside service at 4:00 p.m. at Giddings City Cemetery in Giddings, Texas under the direction of Broussard’s, 2000 McFaddin, Beaumont.
The family would like to express many thanks to the staff at Alterra Assisted Living Facility and to Bethany Hospice who made Melvin’s last days peaceful and wonderful. Both of these organizations treated Melvin as family.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Bethany Hospice, Lamar University School of Business, or New Braunfels Christian Academy. Donations made out to any of these three organizations may be mailed to 1212 Rapids Road., New Braunfels, Texas 78130.
