JD Oliver

JD Oliver, Jr. and his twin brother, AD, were born in Ledbetter, Texas on June 10, 1938 to the late JD Oliver, Sr. and Corrie Lee Oliver. The twins were inseparable in every aspect of their
lives and lived next door to each other for over 40 years.

JD and AD both confessed their faith in God at an early age, were baptized together and became members of Antioch Baptist Church in Ledbetter, Texas, where Rev. Lucius Hennigan was the pastor. Upon moving to Houston in 1969, he and AD became a member of the Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church under the leadership of Rev. William A. Lawson. JD remained a member for 54 years until his death. He found joy in serving the Lord while serving others.

JD grew up in the Ledbetter community and attended Antioch Common Elementary School. Later his family moved to Dime Box, Texas where he attended and graduated from Fairview
High School. He then attended Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Texas and graduated with a degree in Industrial Education and Mathematics. Immediately after graduation
in 1961, JD followed his calling to teach, teaching math at Neal Junior High and E.A. Kemp High School, both in Bryan, Texas. A love for education and a thirst for continuous learning led
JD and his twin to attend National Science Foundation math and science summer institutes at Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies and at such prestigious universities as Princeton and the
University of Wisconsin. The summer institutes led JD to leave the public-school sector and he and his twin brother began teaching at the college level, first at Wiley College in Marshall,
Texas, then at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. After a few years at Southern, the twins saw an opportunity to work in a corporate environment. Both were recruited and hired at
Lockheed Electronics Corporation in Houston, Texas in 1969 as scientific programmers.
Yielding to his dream to teach, in the fall of 1982, he left the space industry and began his teaching career at his alma mater, Prairie View A&M University. A major part of his legacy was fulfilled when he was called to design a computer science program to meet a federal mandate. Ten years later, that program became the first computer science program in the Texas A&M
University system to become accredited.

In 2009, JD was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and learned that his twin brother, AD, had been diagnosed with the same disease a year earlier. Although he remained committed and
dedicated to his work at the university, JD retired in 2014 after 32 years of service.

Although retired, JD never relinquished his desire to impact mankind. While struggling through the many challenges of Parkinson’s disease, JD successfully wrote and published his memoirs in
a book entitled “A Heart of Giving”. He fulfilled his desire to tell his life’s story so that others may be encouraged to remain true to their dreams.

After battling Parkinson’s disease and its complications for 14 years, early Sunday morning, October 22, 2023, the Lord called JD home. He joins in his new heavenly home those family members who have preceded him in death: Parents, JD Oliver, Sr., and Corrie Lee Irvin Oliver; Aunt, Callie Wilma Oliver; Twin brother, AD Oliver; Sisters, Catherine Oliver and Mary Frances Simon; Brother, Earl Oliver and Sister-in-law, Henrine Oliver.

JD leaves to cherish his memory his loving and devoted wife of 53 years, Carolyne Bradley Oliver; a dedicated and loving son, Jay Bradley Oliver; sister, Gladys Oliver Clemons (Eddie Lee); sister-in-law, Helen Oliver (widow of AD); and a host of nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews, special friends (Kirk Paul and Elnora Flewellen), cousins, other relatives and friends.

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