Bill B. Cobb

COBB, BILL B. (1924 ~ 2014). The following is an obituary for Bill Cobb, former member of the Texas Incentive and Productivity Commission. The obituary was provided by Thomason Funeral Home of Wimberly.

Bill B. Cobb, 90, of Wimberley, TX passed from this earth on Saturday, October 18, 2014. Bill was born in Waco, TX on January 2, 1924 and he grew up in the little town of West, TX and then lived in Waco where he graduated from high school. He enrolled at the University of Texas, then WWII called.

In 1943, Bill joined the Army OCS and was then assigned as a 2nd Lt. Bombardier/Navigator in the 15th Army Air Corps 454th Bomb Group flying the B-24 Liberator. On his very first mission, Lt. Cobb's plane was shot down by enemy flak and crash landed in the Romanian forest. Lt. Cobb and two other enlisted men were the only survivors as Lt. Cobb led his men through German held territory until they were rescued. Cobb went on to fly 24 more missions including raids on the Ploesti refineries.

Returning after the war, Bill received his accounting degree from the University of Colorado and his Master's Degree from Denver University in Public Administration. He joined the Texas Legislative Budget Board as a budget examiner. He was then appointed head of the Texas Industrial Board and in 1963, Governor John Connally tapped Bill to be his Executive Budget Director for two terms. As Budget Director and under Connally's guidance, they overhauled the financing of higher education, created a new park system and consolidated the old Game and Fish Commission, passed liquor by the drink, gave Texas cities the authority to levy a sales tax, established the Texas Historical Commission, created the Tourist Development Agency bill, and he helped with all these without a tax bill on the people of Texas.

In 1968, after Connally decided not to run for a third term, Bill came to Corpus Christi and went to work as Senior Vice-President of Corpus Christi Bank and Trust, then First City Bank. He helped obtain state funding for a two year upper level university in Corpus Christi, Texas A&I Corpus Christi. In 1982, Bill and Louise moved to Wimberley, TX. He finished his public policy career by going to work as legislative liaison to Texas State Senator, John Leedom. Together, they created and passed the Rainy Day Fund bill, a fund which is still in use today. There was never a budget that Bill Cobb couldn't balance in some way without raising taxes.

Bill enjoyed quail hunting and was an excellent shot. He also enjoyed golf and played the game into his eighties. He always enjoyed the vacations with his family. Bill is survived by his wife, Louise; son, John Cobb and his wife, Tina of Austin; son, Ty Cobb and his wife, Robyn of Corpus Christi; grandsons, Ryan Cobb and Mitchell Cobb of Corpus Christi.

A memorial service will be held at the Chapel in the Hills, Wimberley, TX on Wednesday, October 29th at 10:30 a.m. A graveside service with military honors will follow at 2:30 p.m. at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin, right down the way from his mentor, Gov. Connally.