Howard Eugene DeOrnellas

Howard Eugene DeOrnellas, '59, of Tyler, Texas, died March 26. He was 78. DeOrnellas joined the U.S. Air Corps and was stationed at Connally Air Force Base in Waco, where he married his wife of 58 years, Lynn Byrd DeOrnellas, in 1953. DeOrnellas worked for IBM and attended Baylor at night. In 1969 he started his own business, Universal Time Equipment Company in Tyler. When he retired in 1998, the company had become one of the largest electronic systems contracting companies in Texas. After retiring, he moved to Waco before returning to Tyler in 2008. A member of the Masons and faithful donor to Baylor, DeOrnellas was also a charter member and officer of the Texas State Fire Alarm Association and served on the board of directors of the Baylor Bear Foundation.