Glenn Carlyle Putnam

Glenn Carlyle Putnam, 93, died December 26, 2007, at his home in Orange, in the company of his family and loved ones.
Glenn was born September 8, 1914, in Reardan, Washington. He attended public schools in Colville and Ellensburg, WA, where his father was the school superintendent. He earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Washington State University in 1935 and an M.S. from the University of Michigan in 1937. He earned money for college by delivering papers and working in a lumber yard, apple orchard, and cannery.
Glenn started a 40-year career with DuPont in 1937 at its Experimental Station in Wilmington, Delaware, doing research and development on nylon intermediates and polyethylene. He moved with his family to Orange in 1948 as part of a start-up team and, except for seven years at DuPont?s Victoria, Texas plant, worked in technical and research supervision at the Sabine River Works until his retirement in 1977.
Glenn met Mildred Patterson Pat in the Wilmington Trail Club, which he co-founded. On their first date they discovered they had many things in common, including master?s degrees from the University of Michigan in Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, respectively; both had fathers who were educators; and both families had black cocker spaniels.
On their second date, Pat allowed him to kiss her for the first time as they walked through a covered bridge, and then he proposed to her. She did not accept, but shortly after did invite him to spend the Christmas holidays with her family in Durham, NC, where her father was a professor at Duke University. On the second night of the visit she did accept, to the consternation of her father. His attempts to break up the engagement were not successful, and they were married in a garden ceremony on April 19, 1941, in Durham. In the ensuing years and Glenn became close friends.
Gardening was an important hobby. Glenn was active in the Horticulture Committee, which preceded the Master Gardeners? Group, and specialized in vegetables. Glenn was an officer of several organizations for many years, including the Heritage Center of Orange, Spindletop Unitarian Church, and Golden K Kiwanis Club. He was a member of the Board of Planned Living Assistance Network PLAN of Southeast Texas.
He is survived by his wife Pat and by their five children, Margaret Peggy Templeton of Orange, Karl of El Paso, Martin and wife Stella of the San Francisco Bay Area, Kay Jasper and husband Glenn of Canyon Lake, Texas, and Robert of Acton, Massachusetts; by six grandchildren: Martin?s children, Marcela Putnam husband Jon and Daniel Putnam; Kay?s children, Amy Parker husband Kevin, Brent Jasper wife Jennifer, and Lindsay Jasper; and Robert?s son, Nathan Putnam; and by a great-granddaughter, Alyssa Parker, daughter of Amy and Kevin.
Memorial services will be held at 6:00 p.m., Sunday, December 30, 2007, at Claybar Funeral Home in Orange. The Reverend Tom Capo of Spindletop Unitarian Church in Beaumont will officiate. Visitation will begin at 5:00 p.m. Sunday.
In lieu of flowers, friends may make donations to Southeast Texas Hospice, P.O. Box 2385, Orange, TX, 77631-2385, or PLAN of Southeast Texas, P.O. Box 2655, Orange, 77631-2655.