Homer H. Presnall, Jr.

Homer H. Presnall Jr. was born in Alice, Texas. He graduated from Alice High School in 1943, and joined the U.S. Army Air Corps later that year. Homer was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant, and trained as a navigator on the B-24 Liberator. He was assigned to the 425th Squadron, 308th Bomb Group (H) in Tezpur, India. There he flew missions over “The Hump”, the Himalaya Mountains to deliver fuel to forces in China. He served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve until 1959. Homer went to college on the G.I. Bill, and drove a taxi to support his family during college. He went on to graduate from Texas Christian University, Dallas in 1948, with a degree in civil engineering. Homer helped to design, build and maintain the Alcoa Plant in Rockdale, TX. He later was manager for 5 Char-King restaurants in Lubbock and Wichita Falls. He was president of the Texas Restaurant Association from 1961-1962. Homer returned to engineering work and worked for McDonald-Douglas Corporation in their Environmental Controls Division in Huntington Beach, California. He was on the investigation team for the accidental fire on the Apollo 1 space capsule. Homer later became Chief Engineer for the H.B. Zachary Company, Modular Construction Division, famous for building the Hilton Palicio Del Rio Hotel on the Riverwalk in San Antonio. His engineering career continued in the building of bridges and structures. Later he became a consultant to the University of Arkansas in their Small Business Department in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Homer gave seminars on small business and entrepreneurship both at the University and around the state. He retired from the University of Arkansas in 1997. Homer lived in Gatesville for the last three years. Homer was preceded in death by his parents Homer H. Presnall Sr. and Mary Delaney Presnall; and a brother, Major Charles Presnall, United States Army Retired. Homer is survived by his friend and companion of 28 years, Charlotte Adkins of Little Rock, Arkansas; daughters Joan Albers and husband, Gary of Gatesville, and Janice Burroughs of Roanoke Rapids, NC; and granddaughter, Sarah Delaney Burroughs. There are no services scheduled and the family requests no donations on Homers behalf. There will be an interment with Military Honors at Central Texas Veterans Cemetery in Killeen, TX at a date to be determined.