Victor James Dube

Victor James Dube, age 80, of McDade, Texas passed away on January 24, 2022.

Victor was born in Elgin, Texas on September 15, 1941, to John Anton Dube, Sr. and Helena Olga Patschke Dube.  

Victor was raised on a family cattle ranch and grew up in a log cabin.  His fondness for ranching perpetuated throughout his life, and in good nature he was often called a Drugstore Cowboy.   He was still out feeding his cows during the last few weeks of his life.

Victor attended McDade Elementary School and graduated from Elgin High School.  Nearing graduation, he was told by his high school counselor that “he was not college material”.  However, several teachers who were family friends encouraged him to pursue a college education. A year and a half later having saved money from working the family ranch, he made his way to junior college and eventually earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from The University of Texas followed by a Master of Science degree in civil engineering from Marquette University.

Victor married Judith Schroeder of Corpus Christi on January 22, 1966, enjoying 56 years of married life. Getting to his wedding from graduate school, Victor drove from Milwaukee to Corpus Christi through cold and rain and sleet and snow, stopping only for gas.  He entrusted his new car to a friend to drive for 3 hours so he could get some sleep.  His wedding day was the coldest recorded day up until that time for Corpus Christi.

Victor enjoyed numerous pastimes throughout his life, including baseball, especially 2nd base, softball, and the great outdoors, hunting, fishing, and camping.  He had a fondness for cooking, notably barbecuing brisket all night for family and church gatherings, making peanut brittle with home roasted fresh peanuts, frying fish for his grandchildren, and very much enjoyed eating pork baby back ribs.

Victor was active in the church throughout his life, including serving as an officer (treasurer), and as an elder.  He was gentle and kind, always caring about other peoples’ feelings.  He loved the Lord, and the Lord smiled upon him.

Victor worked for several engineering firms early in his career and holds several patents.  In 1972, he joined Tracor in Austin developing countermeasure dispensing systems for airborne and missile applications.  After 17 years of a successful engineering career, he departed to pursue his longtime dream of owning his own company.

Victor Dube founded Quad-M in 1990. For years, the company manufactured superchargers and other equipment. In 2012, the company transitioned to making aerospace hardware and by 2022 over 300 satellites had been deployed with Quad-M systems. Victor is credited with having designed the first ever commercial CubeSat deployer for the International Space Station. He was incredibly proud of that achievement. 

Knowing the value of an education, Victor helped others to pursue their dreams.  He did this by employing local high school students during the summer.  He and his company also sponsored a program with local school students learning how to design and build “cube sats”.  He was very proud to accompany one of the student teams to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center where the students watched their summer work loaded onto a rocket and launched into space heading to the International Space Station.

He was a great mentor to those who had the privilege of working with him, and the commitment he had to caring for his employees was unparalleled. His guidance, sincerity, and kindness will be truly missed. 

Victor is survived by his wife, Judith, his three children Mark Dube and wife Katherine, Shawn Dube and wife Kiersten, and Michal Dube and husband Dominique, brothers John Anton Dube Jr. and wife Bessie, and Melvin Dube and wife Jeanne, and ten grandchildren: James, Jessica, David, Jana, Alia, Jacklyn, Jacob, Aaron, Joseph, and Rosa.

Victor is preceded in death by his parents.

A Visitation was held on Friday, January 28, 2022, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at Providence-Jones Family Funeral Home. A Celebration of Life was held on Saturday, January 29, 2022, at 2:00 PM at New Hope Lutheran Church in McDade. Interment followed at 3 Oaks Cemetery in McDade.

Memorials may be made to Redeemer Lutheran School (Austin) Scholarship Fund, or to New Hope Church, McDade.

Arrangements entrusted to Providence-Jones Family Funeral Home.