Loving husband, father, brother, uncle, cousin and friend, Earl C. Hankamer III died on June 25, 2023 at the age of 78.

Born to Earl Curtis Hankamer, Jr. and Geraldine Alice Brown on October 18, 1944 in Orange, TX, Earl lived his entire life in the Houston area, attending The Kinkaid School, Lanier Junior High and Lamar High School. His future bride sat behind him in English class at Lamar and the frequent reproach of "Earl, turn around. Earl, turn around" proved to be an early indicator that he only had eyes for her.

Earl is survived by his devoted wife of 59 years, Bettie Harrison Hankamer; brother, Charles Douglas Hankamer; his proudest accomplishments daughters Karen Hankamer Horne (Trevor), Joanna Hankamer (Bianca), and Heather Hankamer Consoli (Jason); his greatest joys grandchildren, Michael Curtis Horne, William Ellis Horne, Harrison Thomas Consoli, Kate Riley Consoli, Anna Hadley Consoli, and Cy-Henry Siegl Hankamer; and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Earl graduated from Lamar High School in 1962, and Baylor University in 1967 with a BS in Physics and Mathematics. Earl and Bettie married June 12, 1964 while students at Baylor, making lifelong friends that have sustained them over the years. From the endless hours of water-skiing on Lake Waco during college to various ski slopes, quail camp, Hill Country lakes, and extensive travel both locally and internationally, their "Baylor group" has been a consistent source of laughter, friendship, and love, modeling for their children the importance of making memories with those you cherish.

Earl and Bettie lived briefly in Clear Lake, TX for his first job with IBM as a NASA contractor. He loved retelling the story of being in the control room waiting for Apollo 8 to come around from the back side of the moon, recalling the resounding cheers when astronaut Jim Lovell broke the silence with "Go ahead, Houston" in his headset.