John Howell Pickett Jr.

FORT WORTH-John Howell Pickett, Jr., passed peacefully from this world on August 11, 2018, in Fort Worth, Texas.
Visitation: Thursday, August 16, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 noon at Brown Owens & Brumley Funeral Home, 425 S. Henderson, Fort Worth.
Memorial service: will be held at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, 5709 Wedgwood Dr., that same day at 2:00 PM. Following the service, the day of celebration will end with a party (yes, party!) at the River Bend Villas Clubhouse, 3128 River Bend Blvd.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations in John’s honor to the Native Prairies Association of Texas or to St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church.
John was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on May 22, 1935, to John Howell Pickett, Sr., and Iola (Schultz) Pickett. He was raised an Army brat, spending his childhood in places as diverse as Brownwood, Texas, and Rome, Italy. This helped instill an intellectual curiosity and openness to the world that never left him. John met Dana Rhea Welborne on a blind date in Austin and they were married 6 months later on August 26, 1955, in Dallas. Their intense love and devotion never wavered. After becoming parents late in 1956, John and Dana began raising a family. In 1958, John was commissioned as an Army officer. During that time, he and his family lived in Virginia, Washington State, Germany, and Texas, and John served his country for a year in Vietnam. He left active duty in 1969 but continued to serve for many years in the Army Reserve. John found a job with the City of Dallas, where his talent and work ethic eventually made him director of the city’s Office of Emergency Preparedness. He received a BA from the University of Texas at Austin and a MLA from Southern Methodist University. John retired from the City in 1990, but remained active in the emergency management community becoming President of the National Coordinating Council for Emergency Management. In 1986, John and Dana moved to a home overlooking the Paluxy River in Glen Rose, Texas. In working to restore their plot of land, John—always a lover of nature—developed a passion for native plants. The Glen Rose home became a contemplative place where all the family could appreciate nature, especially for the grandchildren who brought him unending pride and delight. John and Dana moved to Fort Worth in 2006 and their home continued to be a family place to gather, share, and laugh. The benefits of John’s kind and generous spirit, innate leadership qualities, and engaging intellect spread well beyond his family.
John is survived by his wife of 63 years, Dana Rhea Welborne Pickett; children Tina Gay Pickett Holmes (Roger Holmes), Bonny Kay Pickett Green (Alan Green), and David Alan Pickett (Patrice Cuccaro Pickett); grandchildren Gordon Welborne Green, Sara Elizabeth Green Wadlington (Jacob Wadlington), John Andrew Green (Megan Beidleman Green), Maria Rose Pickett, and John Anthony Pickett; great-grandsons Clark Douglas Wadlington and Peter Tilford Wadlington; his brothers James David Pickett (Donna Pickett) and Frank Alan Pickett (Relda Pickett); and 3 nieces, 2 nephews, and numerous cousins.

Brown Owens & Brumley Family Funeral Home
425 S. Henderson St.
(817) 335-4557