James Martin “Jim” Verboon passed peacefully from this life to the next on January 25, 2020, with Terry, his loving wife of 31 years, by his side. He had resolutely battled cancer for 10 months. He was 71.

Jim was the third of four children born to Martin and Narcille Verboon in Port Arthur, Texas. He spent his childhood in Port Arthur, enjoying summers on his grandmother’s farm in east Texas, playing centerfield in little league, and always excelling in academics, particularly in math and science. He was baptized as a child at Central Baptist Church where his family were members.

After completing his education as a chemical engineer, Jim began what became a 37 years-long career at Dow Chemical in Freeport. He married Linda Hebert of Nederland, Texas, and the couple had two children, Clint and Laura. Linda developed cancer when the children were small, and Jim was her faithful and steadfast caregiver until her death.

In 1989 Jim and Terry married, and a new chapter of his life began as he added not only Terry to the family, but also a new daughter, Melissa. By this time Jim was traveling internationally as an internal consultant for Dow. In addition, he was honored to use his expertise as a member of the Global Ethylene Producer Committee, of which he was elected president after several years of service.

Upon retiring from Dow, Jim accepted a consulting position with Kellogg Brown & Root for several years, but he was ready to spend more time with some of his hobbies and his ever-growing family. He enjoyed gardening. In typical Jim fashion he was not content merely to grow a few tomatoes plants in containers. He joined the Master Gardeners of Brazoria County in 2012 and served as president for several terms in recent years. He read books about soils and hybrid breeds, both participated in courses and taught them, and experimented with farming methods. His own backyard gardens flourished, and he generously shared his harvests with neighbors and friends.

Retirement also gave Jim more time to spend on another hobby he loved, astronomy. But, again, he was not one to pursue this interest passively simply viewing the skies alone or watching Nova episodes on TV. As a member of Astronomy on Wheels he took his telescopes to schoolchildren for evening star gazing events and he became a volunteer at George Conservatory. He was pleased that he was trained to operate the east dome telescopes and could share his appreciation of the cosmos with others.

In 2012 Jim and Terry moved to Pearland, moving their membership from First United Methodist Church in Lake Jackson to their current church in Pearland and forming close friendships that offered prayerful and compassionate support during his illness.

Jim and Terry were fortunate to be able to travel widely, both with their children and alone. Not surprisingly he tackled travel with the same zeal for learning and fondness for organization that he approached other aspects of his life. He was grateful that he could take his children to places where they could learn about history and enjoy the natural wonders of the world.

The crowning moments for Jim and Terry were the births of their three grandchildren, Landyn, Lane, and Colin. Jim cherished all the time spent with the grandchildren—watching Landyn’s performances, teaching and playing chess with Lane, sharing his own toy soldiers with Colin—above any professional or civic honor that he ever received.

Jim was preceded in death by his parents; his first wife, Linda Hebert Verboon; his son, James Clinton “Clint” Verboon; his sister, Linda Verboon Treece; and his brother, Jon Morris Verboon. In addition to Terry, Jim is survived by his daughter Laura Daigle, her husband Chris, and their son Colin of Houston; his daughter Melissa Roberts, her husband Kris, and their children Landyn and Lane of Pearland; his sister Gretchen Miertschin and her husband Gary of Houston; his sister-in-law Debbie Rankin and her husband Bill of Lake Jackson; and numerous nephews and nieces.

A visitation will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., Friday, January 31, 2020 at First United Methodist Church of Pearland. A memorial service will follow at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of usual remembrances those wishing to make memorial contribution may donate to First United Methodist Church, 2314 N Grand Blvd., Pearland, 77581 or the American Cancer Society.