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Webb, John Richards (1941-2013)
Webb, John Richards
Obituary
2013
Bellville Times
John Richards Webb of Austin passed away on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013 at the age of 72. He was born to the late John Ward and Sarah Richards Webb on Aug. 5, 1941 in Philadelphia. John was raised in Pittsburgh and graduated from Bethel Park High School in 1959. He received a degree in chemical engineering from Lehigh University in 1963 and a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. John worked for ExxonMobil Corp. For 33 years and held various executive leadership positions and retired in 1996 as president of Exxon Chemical Americas. He began his career at the Baytown Chemical Plant as a project development engineer. He later held a number of marketing, manufacturing, and management positions in the olefins, aromatics, plastics, and specialties business lines. In 1974 he moved to Exxon Chemical in New York as product executive and advanced to the company’s international division in Brussels. He was named an executive vice president at Exxon Chemical International in Brussels in 1980. In 1985, John was appointed senior vice president of Exxon Chemical Co. in Darien, Conn. and was named president of its polymers group. Soon after, he held a leadership position at Exxon Chemical’s headquarters in Houston. In 1992, he was the executive assistant to Exxon Corp.’s chairman and president. John was named president of Exxon Chemical Americas in 1994. Upon retirement, he served in several Boards & affiliations. John was a passionate outdoorsman and loved hunting, fishing and golf. In 2004, John helped co-found the Texas-based Wildlife Habitat Federation, a nonprofit conservation organization formed to assist landowners in restoring and conserving wildlife and native plants in South Central Texas. John is survived by his wife Francine Webb of Austin, his brother Richard Webb (California) and four children: David Webb (California), Keith Webb and his wife, Victoria (Texas), Tracy Shorstein and her husband, Paul (Florida) and Christopher Webb (Texas). He also is survived by four grandchildren: Matthew, Sarah, Katherine and Kendall. John was a consummate family man. John and his wife of 25 years, Francine, enjoyed international travel and spending time at their family ranch. He deeply loved his family and he kept in touch with extended family members far and wide. He did not miss family events and enjoyed helping family members. A private service will be held for family and close friends and a larger, public service will be held in January. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations be made to the Wildlife Habitat Federation (http://www.whf-texas.org). Funeral services held under the direction of Schmidt Funeral Home, 1508 East Avenue ~ Katy, Texas 77493 ~ (281) 391-2424. Posted by Joy Neely |
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Webb
John Richards
13344
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