W. Vance Underhill

William Vance Underhill, 84, of Commerce, Texas, passed away on Sunday, May 12, 2024.  A funeral service will take place on Saturday, May 18, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church in Commerce.  Interment will follow at Rosemound Cemetery.

Vance was born in Borger, Texas on August 15, 1939.  He was the son of Will Maud Underhill and Willie Vern Underhill.  A funeral will take place on Saturday, May 19, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church of Commerce, Texas, located at 1709 State Highway 50.  Burial will follow at Rosemound Cemetery in Commerce.

Vance started school in Rotan, Texas, then his family moved to Old Ocean, Texas, and he attended school in nearby Sweeny, graduating in 1957.  He was accepted at Rice University, in Houston, Texas, where he majored in Mathematics.  He made some wonderful lifelong friends attending Rice.

He received his master’s degree in mathematics at the University of Texas in Austin.  He married his first wife, the late Charlotte Underhill, in 1963.  Vance was drafted into the U.S. Army, and they then moved to El Paso, where he was stationed at Ft. Bliss.  Following serving with distinction in the U.S. Army, he went back to U.T. Austin to begin working on his doctorate.  His daughter, Erin Underhill Eads, was born in Austin in 1968.

The family moved to Commerce in 1969, where he taught math at what was then called East Texas State University (now called Texas A&M University-Commerce).  He finished his doctorate, and became Dr. Vance Underhill, Professor of Mathematics, and taught for 35 years, retiring in 2004.

Vance cherished the outdoors.  He lived on the green, balmy Texas Gulf Coast, and loved to go to the beach, take trips to state and national parks across the U.S., and play baseball, golf, and tennis.  He was an excellent amateur photographer, and was talented at capturing nature scenes, especially wildlife.

He was very active for many years at the First United Methodist Church of Commerce, serving on many committees, faithfully attending for many years.  He especially valued the beautiful and uplifting organ music played by Dr. John Burkett.  Vance also taught the Dorcas Sunday School class for many years, a class of ladies which included his mother.  Vance and his late wife, Charlotte, hosted many festive Christmas parties attended by these ladies.

An avid reader and lifelong learner, he especially appreciated nonfiction, and truly enjoyed reading books on history, and reading about the English language.

Vance learned to love the antique business, as his late wife, Charlotte, was an antiques dealer for 30 years before she passed away in 2001.  They traveled widely in the business, which inspired his interest in Texas calendar plates and Texas souvenir spoons.

He married Ann Waldby Key Underhill in 2008, a dear childhood friend and next-door neighbor in Old Ocean.  They had also attended Rice University together for one year, before Vance (three years older) graduated.  Prior to their marriage, Ann had been living in a beautiful area of Maryland, near her children.

Vance loved animals as well as people.  He thought it was important to be kind to others, including pets, domesticated animals, and wildlife.  He considered his pets to be family and had many cats throughout his life.  One cat that he especially loved was Dennis the Menace.  He encouraged everyone to be respectful of wildlife and to be kind to domesticated animals and pets.

Vance is survived by his wife, Ann; his daughter, Erin and her husband Richard Eads; stepdaughter Andi and her daughter Kira; stepson James and his wife, Kristen, and their sons, Michael, Joel, and Calvin.

Memorial donations can be made to the First United Methodist Church of Commerce, Texas, as well as the Commerce Animal Shelter.