Dr. Otis Herbert Colvin, Jr

Otis Herbert Colvin, Jr. March 18, 1923 January 21, 2011 Otis Herbert Colvin, Jr., of Waco passed away on Friday, January 21, 2011, at his home, surrounded by his family. Services will be at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, January 29, 2011, at Seventh and James Baptist Church with Dr. Raymond Bailey officiating. Burial will follow at Oakwood Cemetery. Visitation will be from 57 p.m. Friday, January 28, at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Garden Room. First a devoted and cherished husband and father, Dr. Colvin's professional life as a beloved professor of piano, theory and carillon at Baylor University for more than 40 years allowed him to touch many lives. He also served as University Carilloneur. His creative talent, joy, wit, and compassion were welcome gifts to all whose paths crossed his. Herbert was born March 18, 1923, in El Dorado, Arkansas, to Herbert and Irene Colvin, Sr. He earned a B.A. from Baylor University in 1944, then served in the U.S. Navy during WW II until 1946. He then returned to Baylor and earned a B.M. degree in 1948. While there, he met and married Mary Ila Ullom of Sweetwater, Texas. The newlyweds moved to Colorado where Herbert earned his Master of Music degree in 1950 from the University of Colorado. He taught music at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, for five years before attending the Eastman School of Music and earning his Ph.D. degree from the University of Rochester in 1958. He was a concert accompanist and organist; in Waco, he served at Central Christian, Columbus Avenue Baptist and Seventh and James Baptist Churches. No one could enhance worship as artfully as he. Professional memberships included the American Guild of Organists, Music Teachers National Association, Texas Society for Music Theory, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Pi Kappa Lambda, Guild of Carillonneurs in North America, and Baylor Masonic Lodge 32 degree. In addition to teaching and playing, Herbert was an accomplished composer and editor of music. Among his numerous compositions are Organ Voluntaries based on Early American Hymn Tunes; For Sunday; Gloria; Nine Hymn Settings for Organ; For Sunday, Volume II; Sheep May Safely Graze; Surely the Lord is in This Place; Four Madrigals, and They That Wait Upon the Lord. He edited and contributed to many other choral and keyboard compositions, and contributed articles to professional journals. He was preceded in death by his father, Otis Herbert Colvin, Sr.; his mother, Irene Hammons Colvin; and brother, Morley Joe Colvin. Left to treasure his memory are his wife, Mary Ila Colvin of Waco; three daughters, Carol Colvin Smith and husband Jamey of Kingwood, Texas; Edith Colvin Reitmeier and husband Mike of Waco; and Susan Colvin White and husband Gary of Arlington, Virginia; a sister, Edith Colvin Dyal and her husband William, of Fredericksburg, Virginia; a brother, Tom Colvin and his wife Carol of Warren, Arkansas; six grandchildren, Matt Smith and wife Stephanie of Rowlett, Texas; Michael Smith of Houston, Texas; Lindsay Reitmeier Hall and husband Nicholas of Clovis, New Mexico; Mark Reitmeier and wife Lauren of Waco; Phoebe White and Toby White of Arlington, Virginia; and three great-granddaughters, Camille and Lily Smith, and Evie Hall. Pallbearers will be his grandsons, Matt, Mike, Mark, and Toby, as well as Gayland Sims and Kent Bratcher. Honorary pallbearer will be his grandson-in-law, Capt. Nicholas Hall, USAF. The family expresses their heartfelt gratitude to those from Hillcrest/Scott & White Hospice and Visiting Angels for their compassionate and loving care provided to Herbert, Mary Ila, and the family. Memorials may be made to the Organ Fund at Seventh & James Baptist Church, the Mary Ila and O. Herbert Colvin Scholarship Fund at Baylor University or the Carillon Fund at Baylor. The family invites you to leave a message or memory in our "Memorial Guestbook" at www.WilkirsonHatchBailey.com.