United Church of God

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Tribute...Harold Louis Treybig

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

Tribute...Harold Louis Treybig

Harold was born on the family farm in Oldenburg, Texas, to parents Ewald and Aline (Stork) Treybig on Oct. 22, 1920. His parents were of German descent and Harold spoke German at home and had to learn English in order to attend school. Harold spent his youth working on the farm, where the family raised hogs, chickens, cattle and a variety of crops. His father plowed with mules and Harold remembered his most difficult job as a young boy—picking cotton! After graduating from high school, Harold moved to Houston, where he began attending business school. His first job in the big city was at Allbritton's Cafeteria as a breakfast cook. He slept on a cot at the cafeteria in order to be on site to open for business each morning. After a full morning of cooking, it was off to school in the afternoon and evening. He eventually was able to purchase a car and visited home on the weekends. Harold later went to work as a stenographer for Corbett Corporation, a supply house for pipe and pipe fittings. When World War II broke out, he was drafted and, due to his office skills, he was assigned to the Army Air Corps and eventually ran teletype machines and worked with communications. Near the end of the war, he served in Italy, where he remembered being so cold that, in spite of sleeping in his clothes, he caught pneumonia. Following the war, he returned to Houston and attended the University of Houston on the GI Bill. He and three of his war buddies decided to become accountants and, of the four of them, Harold was the only one who became a Certified Public Accountant. Like most people of German descent, Harold grew up as a Lutheran and continued in that tradition through his college years. It was there that he would meet his future wife, Jeanette Brandt, a young lady from Columbus, Texas. Harold and Jeanette were married on April 10, 1948, and blessed with three children: David, born in 1950; Kenneth, born on Mother's Day in 1952; and Karen, born in 1956. The young couple's contact with the Church came during a visit Jeanette made to her parents' home, where she happened to pick up a copy of The Plain Truth. Soon after that, they began listening to the radio program and receiving literature themselves. They attended their first church service with the Radio Church of God in May of 1953, during Pentecost weekend, in Big Sandy, Texas, where they were baptized by Rod Meredith and had the opportunity to meet and talk with Herbert Armstrong. Since there was no congregation in the Houston area, Harold and Jeanette studied by themselves for several years, traveling to Gladewater about once a month to attend services (a six-hour drive each way at the time). In the fall of 1953, Harold and Jeanette attended their first Feast of Tabernacles in Big Sandy, Texas. Not knowing what to expect, they left their two young sons with Jeanette's parents. They were pleasantly surprised to find other children attending the Feast and brought David and Ken the next year. Finally, on March 9, 1956, a congregation was started in Houston by Wayne Cole. Houston was to become part of a three-church circuit consisting of San Antonio, Corpus Christi and Houston. Fourteen people were present at that first service, including the Treybigs and their two sons. Karen was born in December of that year and has the distinction of being the first baby born in the Houston congregation. Shortly after the local church was established, Harold and Malcolm Martin were ordained as deacons. In 1964, Harold was ordained as an elder—the 100th elder ordained in the modern era of the Church. Over the years, Harold served the Church in many ways, including as a member of the Board of Regents for Ambassador College (later, University). He served as business manager at various Feast sites and was the treasurer for his congregation. Harold was a devoted husband and father, a hard worker and a thoroughly committed member of the Church. Beginning with his first Feast of Tabernacles in 1953, he never missed a Feast and rarely missed a Sabbath service. As a pillar in the Houston congregations and the inspiring patriarch of the Treybig family, he will be sorely missed. Harold finished his race on Dec. 18, 2005, and is survived by his wife of nearly 58 years, Jeanette, of Houston; son, David, of Tampa, Florida (pastor of Tampa and St. Petersburg); son, Kenneth, of Gladewater, Texas (pastor of East Texas and Texarkana); and daughter, Karen Doig (wife of Glenn Doig, elder in Houston North); seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.