John William Wolfe Jr.
John William Wolfe Jr., 82, of Horseshoe Bay died Nov. 5, 2010. He was born in Ponca City, Okla., on Dec. 18, 1928, to Helen Hope (Eby) Wolfe and John W. Wolfe Sr.
He attended Ponca City schools, graduating in 1946. He entered Oklahoma A&M College (Oklahoma State University) to major in mechanical engineering with a petroleum option.
After graduation in 1950, he took a job in the training program with the Continental Oil Co., or Conoco, production department in Big Spring as a roustabout. On Dec. 14, 1950, he married Virginia Ruth Phelps in Big Spring.
In January 1951, he was drafted and sent to Camp Chaffee, Ark., for basic training. He was sent to Officers Candidate School at Fort Sill, Okla. He was shipped to Korea to join the 96th Field Artillery. He received a Bronze Star.
After his tour ended in 1953, he was hospitalized with infectious hemorrhagic fever, which delayed his return home. He returned to Conoco in January 1954 in Houston. He worked as an engineer in Ventura, Calif., in August 1954.
In 1961, he was promoted to district engineer in Odessa. In January 1962 he moved to Eunice, N.M., then to Hobbs as supervising engineer in charge of unit operations and state government regulatory affairs.
He eventually moved into the offshore division in New Orleans and helped establish the first co-op oil spill cleanup association (Clean Gulf Associates).
In 1978, he joined the production engineering services section in Houston where he became supervisor of a group of engineers who worked on production problems worldwide. He worked on projects in the North Sea, Dubai and the South Pacific. He was part of a task force that made three trips to China (before they allowed tourists) as guests of the Chinese Offshore Oil Co. to attempt to gain leases for Conoco. These efforts failed when DuPont bought Conoco and funds were not available.
Later, he was appointed by U.S. Secretary of the Interior James Watt to represent the American Petroleum Institute on a committee composed of environmental directors.
He moved to the production department again in 1983 as director of environmental affairs. He spent time in Washington, D.C., working with the Environmental Protection Agency and Coast Guard to help develop regulatory programs.
He retired in 1987 after 37 years with Conoco.
After retirement, he remained in Houston for a year before moving to Horseshoe Bay in 1988. He was active in the church choir and was elected to the church board for six years, serving the last three as chairman. He played golf and was looking for his fifth hole-in-one, having two in Houston and two in Horseshoe Bay.
A memorial service is 2:30 p.m. Nov. 11 at the Church at Horseshoe Bay, 600 Hi Ridge in Horseshoe Bay, with Johnny White and Pete Christy officiating.
Children include Stan, David and grandchildren.
Arrangements are by Clements-Wilcox Funeral Home, 1805 U.S. 281 North of Marble Falls, (830) 693-7152.
Condolences may be offered at www.clementswilcoxfuneralhome.com