Arthur “Travis” Lovelace, a young 73, passed away Wednesday, January 27, 2021. It was too soon, we aren’t ready to go on without him. He followed the rules to protect against getting Covid so it is incredibly unfair that he would be taken.
Travis was born October 14, 1947 in San Antonio, Texas. He was an Air Force Veteran and it was during this time that he met the love of his life, Kay Toavs Lovelace, a farm girl from northeast Montana. They loved each other completely and without reservation, and celebrated 50 years of marriage in March of 2020. Their dedication to each other was an amazing bond. They actually met on April Fools day 1967, an anniversary that meant more than anything because that was when their love for each other began and never ended.
He was proud to have earned an undergraduate degree and 2 graduate degrees and had a successful first career in computer capacity planning. His second career though was his passion, in environmental science; he loved education and sharing knowledge of the natural world of the Upper Texas Coast as director of the Eddie V Grey Wetland Education Center where all Baytown 5th graders went through the program to learn about the environment. He also directed the Waterbourne Wetlands Education Center programs in Anahuac taking students and visitors into the marsh and the Trinity River to learn about the nurseries, habitat, wildlife and the richness of the Chambers County ecosystem. He loved working with the youth of the area.
After retirement in 2005, he became an active volunteer at the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, he wanted to make a difference, leave a legacy. He served as the president of the Friends group, as well as being on the board at other times. There was hardly an event when he and Kay were not involved in some way. He started up the Outdoor Work Team (loved native prairie plants), and he led the complete overhaul of the community building (a building that serves many volunteers) after Hurricane Ike. This is just a tiny portion of his contributions to the Refuge, the Friends of Anahuac and Fish and Wildlife Service in general.
He was a dedicated family man and he dearly loved his children and grandchildren: Daughter, Angela Kay Lovelace- York, granddaughter Zoey Kay Marie (deceased), grandson Johnny York. Son Travis John Lovelace, granddaughters Olivia Kay and Lillian LaBelle. His dear brother Michael Boone Lovelace and his wife, Beverly Fortune Lovelace and their children Michael Brian Lovelace, wife Julie, son Matthew, and daughter Sarah; Gregg Alan Lovelace, wife Ashley and sons Fletcher and Crispin. He was preceded in death by his parents, Mitchell Boone Lovelace and Alice Fuller Lovelace, two brothers John and James Lovelace. He also had a dear friend and mentor, Bob Craig. They enjoyed fishing, exploring, and experienced many adventures traveling the waterways of Chambers County.
Travis loved his Montana family. Kay’s mother, Irene Rensvold Toavs, father, John Alvin Toavs (deceased), sister Cheryl and Joe and their family, sister Cathy and Doug and their family, brother John and Patricia and their family. There are many aunts, uncles, and cousins too numerous to name but they made a difference in Travis’ life and he loved them for accepting him into the family.
Putting a few words on a page cannot express who he was nor how much he meant to his family. He loved with a pure heart, he was wise and gave great advice, he had a strong sense of what is right and what is wrong, he was honest no matter what, he was curious and had an insatiable thirst to learn it didn’t matter the topic, he enjoyed the news of the day. His grandchildren often talk and chuckle about their Grandaddy and his bits of wisdom: don’t back up any further than you have to, do the best you can with what you have, if you can hear it turn it down, there’s a tool for that, part of a project is cleaning up afterward. With Travis, it was always a teaching moment, a chance to share a little bit of knowledge and help us in some way.
As we say goodbye to Travis, Daddy, Grandaddy, Brother, Uncle Friend each of us knows that he loved us completely and tenderly and is proud of us. Go with love our dear, dear man where you are at peace and understanding with the universe. You will be missed and forever held in our hearts with love.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Friends of Anahuac Refuge (FOAR) for Prairie Education on Anahuac Refuge. Follow this link to the Facebook donation site https://www. facebook.com/FriendsofAnahuacRefuge.
(Paid Obituary)
