Roll Call Tribute

Benjamin Herman Schleider, Jr.
January 21, 1921 - October 1, 2022

Benjamin Herman Schleider, Jr. passed away on October 1, 2022, at the age of 101.

Ben, a fourth generation Texan, was born in Brenham, Texas, on January 21, 1921, to Benjamin H. Schleider, Sr. and Hulda Engblad Schleider. He graduated from Brenham High School in 1939 and then from Texas A&M University in 1943, where he served in the Corp of Cadets and was elected Head Drum Major of the Aggie Band.

After graduating from Texas A&M in 1943, Ben was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army and sailed with the Sixth Armored Division to Great Britain for training and deployment to France. From April 1944 to early 1946, he served as an Aide to Major General Robert W. Grow, commanding officer, Sixth Armored Division. He fought in Normandy, Brest, the Battle of the Bulge, and through Germany, where his Division met the Russians.

Released from Active Duty in 1947 with the rank of Captain, he continued to serve in the National Guard and Army Reserve, retiring with the rank of Colonel in 1975. Ben received the Bronze Star with First Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart Meritorious Service Medal, five Bronze Battle Starts, and the German Occupation Medal. He also received the Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur, the highest French order of military merit, for combat service in France during the war.

Returning to Texas, Ben met and married Dorothy Dabbs of Dallas, Texas in 1947. He entered the first class of the University of Houston College of Law, where he was elected President of the Student Bar Association. He was the first University of Houston law student to take and pass the Texas Bar Exam, finishing third in the State of Texas. He graduated in 1950.

After practicing law briefly in Brenham, he returned to Houston and established a law practice that lasted nearly sixty years. He was admitted to practice before the Texas Supreme Court, the Fifth and Eleventh U.S. Courts of Appeals, the District of Columbia Circuit, the U.S. Tax Court, the U.S. Court of Claims, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. Ben was an active member of the American Bar Association, the Texas Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association, the Houston, Bar Association, and the Fifth Circuit Bar Association. He was a Life Fellow of the American, Texas, and Houston Bar Foundations.

He was a member of St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, the Petroleum Club of Houston, a charter member of the Houston Racquet Club and a resident of Bunker Hill Village for over 65 years.

Ben is predeceased by his parents, his sister, Elizabeth Schleider Snowdy, and his wife, Dorothy, after 72 years of marriage. He is survived by his son Benjamin H. Schleider, III and wife, Door; daughter Laura Myers and husband James Myers; son Peter D. Schleider and wife, Colleen; son John D. Schleider and wife, Kelly; grandchildren Major Christian Schleider and wife Jessica; Alexander Schleider and wife Samantha; Amy Montgomery and husband Mike; Betsy Presley and husband Joseph, William Myers, Robert Schleider and wife Lexi; Kesley Giovenco and husband Ari, Benner Schleider, John D. Schleider, Jr., Benjamin H. Schleider IV, and Annabelle Schleider; and his fourteen, darling great grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.

A private, graveside service with full military honors was held at Atkinson Cemetery in Chappell Hill, Texas on October 5, 2022.

For those desiring, contributions may be made to the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets Association, Attn: Honor/Memorial Gifts, 1134 Finfeather Road, Bryan, Texas 77803, or St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, 717 Sage Road, Houston, Texas 77056.

In the care of:  Brenham Memorial Chapel, 2300 Stringer St., Brenham, Texas 77833