Friends, family and all kids are invited to a wake in celebration of his life that includes live music and pétanque – his two passions.
Sunday, June 11th, 2023 starting at 2PM
Browning Hangar
Mueller Lake Park
4550 Mueller Blvd.
Austin TX, 78723
Jim had many friends, and not all of them are on our email list, so please spread the word to other folks who may not be pétanque players.
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What to Bring?
Pétanque players should consider this similar to any other of our tournaments and potlucks. Please bring your chairs, tables, coolers, water, ice, etc. You know the routine! Bring your favorite foods and snacks to share.
Questions or Suggestions?
Contact Michelle at 512-636-6082
Approximate Timeline:
12:45 to 1:45pm - Setup time
Michelle and family members and others plan to arrive to start setting up tables for food & drink, along with some of Jim's memory items (photos, trophies, etc.)
1:50 to 2:30pm - Activities and Music
Live Band Music, Pétanque games, Food & Drink available for self service
2:30 to 3:30pm - Jim Story Time
Michelle (Jim's cousin) gives a welcome speech. People get to tell some of their favorite Jim stories. (Get ready to tell your own story!)
3:30 to 4:25pm - More Activities
More Live Band Music, Pétanque games, Food & Drink available for self service
4:30pm - Conclusion Formal Event
We all pitch in to clean up the space. Pétanque games are likely to go on for a while.
Jim “Tex” Schwobel
Jim “Tex” was born June 11, 1946 in New York City. He passed away on December 5th, 2021 in Austin, Texas, USA from a short battle with terminal cancer. He lived most of his life in his beloved Austin, Texas and was always planning his next travel vacation abroad.
He learned to swim in the big pool at Shipe Park, had his first date to a dance at Hancock Center, learned to water ski on Lake Austin and first sailed his wooden Sunfish on Town Lake before it was named “Lady Bird Lake”. Some of his fondest child-hood memories were spent at his grandparents’ farm near Eldorado, Texas where he learned to drive a tractor and car at the age of 9.
He graduated from McCallum High School in 1965 and received his Bachelor’s Degree in International Business from the University of Texas at Austin in 1977, making the Dean’s List and receiving the French Department’s “Diplome d’honneur” that same year.
One of his fondest adventures and learning experiences in life was purchasing a share of a sailboat in France and sailing the Cote d’Azure/Mediterranean Sea in the summer of 1975. He lived and attended universities during the next year in Toulouse, France and Konstanz, West Germany. It was during that year that he also learned to snow ski – a sport he enjoyed for many years after returning to the United States. While living in Toulouse, he played tuba in the Old Time Jazz Band.
In 1972, he started his professional career in the computer industry with Hycel, Inc., a Fortune 500 company in Houston, Texas. He began working for the Texas Department of Human Services in 1977 from where he retired in 2002 at the age of 55. During those 25 years, he was fortunate to work on the leading edge of the computer revolution with a great team of people who were not only co-workers but great friends. He considered his major accomplishment managing the Year 2000 End-user Computing Project during the 5 years before retirement.
He sailed on Lake Travis throughout the 1980’s, at one time serving as Vice-Commodore of the Lake Travis Cruising Association. His love of sailing was the catalyst for his purchasing and becoming the CEO of the Corpus Christi Sailing Center, Inc. in 1990. As a licensed US Coast Guard Captain (Master’s 50-ton) and Certified American Sailing Association instructor, he realized success as an entrepreneur with his company which he sold in 2002.
Starting in the 1970s, and continuing until his death, he made many trips to Europe, primarily France, England and Iceland, where he would spend months with friends from various cultures, visiting iconic sites and discovering unique places. He was particularly involved with the French game of pétanque and was Vice- President of the Heart of Texas Petanque Club in Austin, where he established a “twinning” between the 2,000members of Federation Petanque USA and the Jules le Noir Association, the birthplace of pétanque, and located in La Ciotat, France.
He also enjoyed traveling to Belize, Central America where he would spend weeks sailing and snorkeling along the world’s 2nd longest barrier reef. Upon his retirement, he once again picked up the tuba/sousaphone that he had played from Junior High School through college in the UT Longhorn Band. He was a member of the Austin Civic Wind Ensemble, serving as Vice-President and Webmaster in 2003. He also played in the New Horizons Band, the Wurst Band, Longhorn Alumni Band and the Chaparral Dixielanders. In 2005, he formed the New Austin Polka Band. He enjoyed his many friends in these bands and especially enjoyed finding gigs and making music with them.
