Individual Details
Max Beck Skelton
(23 Mar 1916 - 31 Oct 1992)
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Texas, Monday, November 2, 1992, Page 17, Col. 1 & 2: Max Skelton, 76, ex-writer with The Associated Press. Houston---Max Beck Skelton who established The Associated Press' H:ouston bureau and covered everything from the Texas City disaster of 1947 to the advent of the Nation's space program, died late Saturday. He was 76.
Mr. Skelton, who retired in April 1982 after 35 years with the wire service, had suffered a stroke two weeks ago. He suffered a heart attack in 1981 and a ruptured aorta a few months later. In recent years, he battled emphysema and cancer. He died at home at 10:15 p.m. a family friend said.
Mr. Skelton had been a "vacation relief" staffer in Dallas when he was sent to cover the 1947 tanker explosion that killed about 500 people in Texas City and became known as the state's worst catastrophe. Mr. Skelton replaced a writer who had opted to go boating that day. "That's how Max happened to stay," recalled former Dallas bureau chief Bob Johnson, now of Albuquerque, N. M. "I think [the AP] decided they didn't need a correspondent who went boating during working hours." In contrast, Mr. Skelton proved to be "just a totally dedicated guy." Johnson said. "He was one of the most respected newsmen in Texas."
Born March 23, 1916 in McKinney, Mr. Skelton began his journalism career in September 1930 at the Daily Courier-Gazette in his home town, working there for four years. He continued reporting at newspapers while attending Pomona Junior College in Pomona, Calif., and the University of Texas at Austin.
He served in the Army Ground Forces during World War II. Discharged as a captain, he joined the AP in Dallas in September 1946. He was named correspondent in Houston in May 1947, running the one-man bureau for a decade as Houston grew from a city of 500,000 into the center for the space industry, petroleum companies, medical research and Gulf of Mexico port tonnage.
Mr. Skelton set up the AP's space bureau at NASA's Johnson Space Center, filing stories as the Gemini, Apollo and finally the space shuttle programs lifted off and landed. Mr. Skelton also recorded the rise of Houston's oil industry through weekly columns that ran nationwide and became a mainstay for newspapers affected by the petroleum market. Eventually, Mr. Skelton oversaw a Houston staff of nine, including five writers, a photographer, a broadcast executive and two technicians.
Mr. Skelton is survived by his wife, Keeter; a stepson, Bruce Stanton Mazza of Houston; and a granddaughter.
Graveside services scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at Glenwood Cemetery, under the direction of Earthman Funeral Home.
Mr. Skelton, who retired in April 1982 after 35 years with the wire service, had suffered a stroke two weeks ago. He suffered a heart attack in 1981 and a ruptured aorta a few months later. In recent years, he battled emphysema and cancer. He died at home at 10:15 p.m. a family friend said.
Mr. Skelton had been a "vacation relief" staffer in Dallas when he was sent to cover the 1947 tanker explosion that killed about 500 people in Texas City and became known as the state's worst catastrophe. Mr. Skelton replaced a writer who had opted to go boating that day. "That's how Max happened to stay," recalled former Dallas bureau chief Bob Johnson, now of Albuquerque, N. M. "I think [the AP] decided they didn't need a correspondent who went boating during working hours." In contrast, Mr. Skelton proved to be "just a totally dedicated guy." Johnson said. "He was one of the most respected newsmen in Texas."
Born March 23, 1916 in McKinney, Mr. Skelton began his journalism career in September 1930 at the Daily Courier-Gazette in his home town, working there for four years. He continued reporting at newspapers while attending Pomona Junior College in Pomona, Calif., and the University of Texas at Austin.
He served in the Army Ground Forces during World War II. Discharged as a captain, he joined the AP in Dallas in September 1946. He was named correspondent in Houston in May 1947, running the one-man bureau for a decade as Houston grew from a city of 500,000 into the center for the space industry, petroleum companies, medical research and Gulf of Mexico port tonnage.
Mr. Skelton set up the AP's space bureau at NASA's Johnson Space Center, filing stories as the Gemini, Apollo and finally the space shuttle programs lifted off and landed. Mr. Skelton also recorded the rise of Houston's oil industry through weekly columns that ran nationwide and became a mainstay for newspapers affected by the petroleum market. Eventually, Mr. Skelton oversaw a Houston staff of nine, including five writers, a photographer, a broadcast executive and two technicians.
Mr. Skelton is survived by his wife, Keeter; a stepson, Bruce Stanton Mazza of Houston; and a granddaughter.
Graveside services scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at Glenwood Cemetery, under the direction of Earthman Funeral Home.
Events
| Birth | 23 Mar 1916 | McKinney, Collin Co., Texas |  | ||
| Residence | 1930 | Single; Relation to Head of House: Son - McKinney, Collin Co., Texas | | ||
| Marriage | 4 Feb 1956 | Houston, Harris Co., Texas - Mary Almeda "Keeter" Cravens | | ||
| Death | 31 Oct 1992 | Houston, Harris Co., Texas | | ||
| Alt name | Max Skelton | | |||
| Burial | Glenwood Cemetery, Houston, Harris Co., Texas | |
Families
| Spouse | Mary Almeda "Keeter" Cravens (1919 - 1999) |
| Father | Benjamin Franklin Skelton (1877 - 1952) |
| Mother | Annie Elizabeth Beck (1883 - 1969) |
| Sibling | Benjamin Franklin Skelton Jr (1911 - 1918) |
| Sibling | Mildred Allyene Skelton (1912 - 2014) |
| Sibling | William Thomas Skelton (1914 - 1957) |
| Sibling | Viola Mauryene Skelton (1918 - ) |
| Sibling | Paul Ryan Skelton (1926 - 1946) |
Endnotes
7. Find A Grave.
8. Obituary of Max Beck Skelton, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Texas, Monday, November 2, 1992, Page 17, Col. 1 & 2.