Ervin H. RohdeSeptember 11, 1918 ~ October 20, 2007 Ervin H. Rohde, 89, formerly of Waco, passed away at a Carrollton nursing home on Saturday, Oct. 20, 2007. Mass of Christian Burial was 10 a.m., Thursday, October 25, 2007 at St. Mary's Catholic Church with the Rev. Irudayaraj Nelapatti -Thomas as celebrant. Burial followed at Waco Memorial Park. Rosary was recited at 7 p.m., Wednesday, October 24, at Connally/Compton Funeral Directors Chapel. Ervin Harvey was born the son of Wilhelm and Wilhelmina Schmidt Rohde on Sept. 11, 1918 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He married Rose Mary Salome on Oct. 10, 1943. From 1941 to 1945 Ervin served as a Sergeant in the Army-Air Corps. He was a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church and the Knights of Columbus. He liked motorcycles, enjoyed hunting, and loved animals, whether it be feeding all the neighborhood animals or picking up various strays over the years. . . Ervin retired as a lineman from Texas Power & Light then worked 10 years as a licensed security guard. He played a guitar and listened to country & western music and also spoke fluent German. Preceding him in death were his parents; wife, Rose Mary Rohde in August of 2000; brothers, Ben and William; sisters, Lillie, Lorraine and Helen; and grandson, Kevin Henley. Those left behind to cherish his memory are daughter, Jane Henley and husband, Terry of Meadows Place, Texas; sons, Ervin A. Rohde and wife, Margie of Sweeney, Texas and Bernard Rohde and wife, Cathy of Coppell; grandchildren, Andrea Henley, Alicia Stegent and husband, Chris, Kelly Morrison and husband, Jeff, James and Brian Rohde, and Tyler and Erica Rohde; brothers, Henry Rohde of West Bend, Wisconsin and Elmer Rohde of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; great-grandchildren are Brittany and Rosemary Stegent, and Adam Morrison; and numerous nieces and nephews. Pallbearers were David Gray, David Groman, Terry Henley, Geoff Henningsen, Mark Hill, Brian Rohde, James Rohde and Chris Stegent.Written by Bernard Rohde, Ervin Rohde's youngest son. October 23, 2007When Ervin H. Rohde passed away at the age of 89, it was the culmination of a long, eventful, and fruitful life. Born to German parents in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he was an orphan by the age of 10. His father died in a motorcycle accident in 1922 and his mom passed away in 1928 when he was 10 years old. He and his brothers and sisters were moved from one relative's home to another and were eventually put into an orphanage. As soon as he was old enough, he left the orphanage and went out on his own. In his late teens and early twenties, he was, as he used to tell it, something of a hell raiser. He road a motorcycle, worked at Briggs & Stratton, and ran around on the "wrong side of the tracks" in Wisconsin. But through it all, he always worried about and helped take care of his brothers and sisters.When World War II broke out, he willingly joined the Army instead of waiting to be drafted. During those days, there were more choices and opportunities in the Army, so he joined the Army Air Corps, the predecessor to today's Air Force. He was a radio specialist and bombardier and rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant. His first assignment was at James Connally Army Base in Waco, which is how he met his wife of 55 years, Rose Mary Salome. They met at a USO dance and he always said that was it, he knew he wanted to marry her. They married and afterwards moved around to a couple of different bases before the war ended and he was discharged. Because Ervin spoke fluent German, including street slang, the Army wanted him to move to Germany as an intelligence officer, but he turned them down to make a new life for himself.With his wife Rose, and their first child Jane, they settled back in Waco to start their post-war life. He had several jobs at first, including working at his father-in-law's grocery store and at William's Drug Store. He believed in being self-sufficient, in working hard, and in making a life for himself and his family, which grew by two with the births of his sons, Ervin August and Bernard William during the 50s. He found his calling when he went to work for Texas Power & Light in Waco as an electrician and lineman. He worked there 35 years until his retirement, and had many hair-raising experiences. He was so close to Waco's deadly tornado of 1953 that his truck was lifted and bounced on the ground during the storm. And he came close to dying when an exploding transformer blew him off the pole from 60 feet above the ground. Engulfed in flames, he was flung from the pole by the force of the explosion. Fortunately, his legs tangled in the ropes as he was falling, and he ended up hanging upside down 30 feet in the air. Otherwise, he might have died striking the ground. After a long recovery in the hospital, he resumed his lineman duties. He always said you have to put aside your fear and get right back up on the pole; that was his version of getting back on the horse after you've been thrown. Ervin was a strongly ethical man. He would do many wiring projects in his spare time to help out friends and neighbors, but he didn't accept money for his work; he always said that would be a violation of the trust his company put in him. In the later years of his career, when he had to be on call after hours in case of storms or electrical problems, he took every phone call that ever came in, regardless of day of the week or time of day. Sometimes his wife or children would beg him not to answer the phone, to let someone else do the job, but he always answered the call.During his years with Texas Power & Light, he was awarded two life saving medals. One was for saving his assistant's life by administering CPR while upon an electrical pole by draping the man's body over his safety belt. The other was for giving first aid to a little girl who had gone through the windshield in a car accident.He was a big supporter of Reicher Catholic High School, and for many years, both during and after the years his sons Ervin and Bernard attended and played football, you could see his green company pick-up truck on game nights, parked behind the end zone near the scoreboard. If a scoreboard light or stadium field light went out during the game, he was up a ladder or on the pole fixing it while the game played on. After retirement, he went back to riding Harleys just as he had done in his twenties, and not being the type of person who was content to sit around during retirement, he became a state-licensed security guard and worked that job for another 10 years.In summary, he lived a long and eventful life. He was an orphan, a motorcycle rider, a military man, a father, and a guitar player. He found the love of his life and was married to her for 55 years until her death in 2000. He helped raise three children, loved his career and loved to work. He was both a hunter and a lover of animals, often adopting and caring for orphaned animals and strays. He was a proud patriot who loved going on trips across America with his wife and kids to see all the country's wonders.We will miss him.