Roll Call Tribute

Callaway-Jones Funeral Home obituary

Dr. William B. Roman Jr., M.D.

William B. Roman, Jr., M.D., slipped the bonds of earth the morning of December 3, 2014. He loved much, gave more and touched many lives. He was a pharmacist, physician, educator, sailor, and philanthropist, living a full life for almost 90 years.

Bill, aka “Bubba”, aka “Doctor Bill”, was born at home in Bryan January 7, 1925. He attended Bryan schools and the University of Texas before enlisting in the U. S. Navy in WWII. After the war, he completed degrees in pharmacy and zoology at the University of Texas and a degree in Science from Texas A&M before being accepted to the UTMB Medical School in Galveston. He married Jo Adams in 1953 and graduated medical school in 1954. Bill and Jo had three children. After Jo died in 1982, he married Jeannette Haynes Serio, who survives him.

After completing residencies in OBGYN in Dallas, Bill returned to Bryan to open his medical practice. He delivered several thousand babies in Bryan over the years. He taught a class per semester at Texas A&M in the Physical Education department and lectured at the A&M Medical School. He was awarded the UTMB outstanding alumnus award in 2004. There are scholarships at UT College of Pharmacy, Texas A&M and UTMB which he established.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents, William B. and Bertha Roman, his sister, Alice Sue Hunter, and his son William B. Roman III.

He is survived by his wife, Jeannette H. Roman; his son, Stuart Patrick Roman (Nancy Jean) of Bryan, Texas; his daughters Marcella R. Winters (Jim) of Pace, Florida and Courtney Serio of Fayetteville; grandsons William B. C. Roman of Bryan, Texas, Joseph C. Winters (Jessica) of Clermont, Florida, William J. Winters of Pensacola, Florida, Timothy W.Winters of Pace, Florida; Zachary Meyer of Fayetteville and granddaughters Jamie R. Speed (Jonathan) of College Station, Texas, Casaday Saunders of Natchez, Mississippi, Jacqueline Biehler (William) of Fayetteville and three great-granddaughters and one great-grandson. He is also survived by his daughter-in-law, Nancy Roman (widow of Buck Roman), his brother-in-law, Clifford Hunter, two nieces, and three great-nieces.

Your kind memorial donation can be made to St. Andrew Episcopal Church, 217 West 26th Street, Bryan, Texas 77803; the Roman Family Scholarship at the University of Texas – Austin College of Pharmacy, the William B. Roman, Jr. ’50 MD endowed Scholarship at Texas A&M, and The William B. and Jeannette H. Roman Presidential scholarship at UTMB; Or Aggieland Humane Society, 5359 Leonard Road, Bryan, Texas 77807; please no flowers as the family finds great comfort in your generosity.

Memorial services are scheduled for Friday, December 5, 2014 at St. Gabriel Anglican Church, Fayetteville, Arkansas, and on Monday, December 29, 2014 at 10am, St. Andrews Episcopal Church, Bryan, Texas. Expression of condolences can be made at callawayjones.com
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(Published in) The (Bryan-College Station) Eagle (on) December 30, 2014

Local doctor, former State Rep. Bill Roman memorialized as 'renaissance man' in Bryan
By SAM PESHEK sam.peshek@theeagle.com | Posted: Tuesday, December 30, 2014 12:00 am

Longtime doctor and former state representative Bill Roman was remembered Monday as a true “renaissance man” during a memorial service at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Bryan.

Roman, who passed away earlier this month in Arkansas at the age of 89, was laid to rest in a columbarium in the church he grew up in and donated to throughout his life. His philanthropy included even donating some of the land used to build St. Joseph hospital, while his career included delivering thousands of babies at that hospital.

Friend and former District Judge Tom McDonald said Roman's determination to be the best at whatever he did made a lasting impression on those who knew him.

"A renaissance man is one who is interested in many things," McDonald said. "Bill Roman was such a man."

After serving in the Navy during World War II, Roman enrolled at The University of Texas and earned a pharmacy degree, but quickly decided to push himself further.

"He always wanted to be the one who wrote the prescriptions and not just fill them," McDonald said.

He graduated from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, completed obstetrician and gynecologist residencies in Dallas, then returned to Bryan to open his own practice. McDonald said Roman practiced long enough to deliver two generations of children.

His love of helping people and the community led him to donate land for St. Joseph's hospital, co-create the Brazos County MHMR Authority and lead a successful grassroots campaign to become the "grandpa" of his 75th Texas Legislature freshmen class in 1997. He served one-term as a representative, and according to McDonald, kept his promise to be the same man in Austin that he was in Brazos county.

Roman's brother-in-law Clifford Hunter said the turnout of more than 100 people at the service was an example of how many people's lives he touched.

"Bill was one of those types of people who has a magnetic personality," Hunter said. "I thought it was wonderful the way the community responded to the things he accomplished. It was an extremely nice gesture on the people to express themselves in a way that made the family feel good."

Although Roman was known by those close to him to have a very straightforward manner in most interactions, he had a soft side that showed when he got tears in his eyes when the conversation focused on something of which he cared deeply. McDonald said it was the sincerity that he showed in personal interactions and acts that made a lasting impact on ensuring his legacy in the city he loved.

"The world is a better place because we had Bill Roman," McDonald said. "Bill would say it's been a real good ride. We will not forget him."