The American Association of Petroleum Geologists Foundation

Grants-in-Aid Program

Jim Classen	Willard J. Classen	Willard Classen, Jr.

The Classen Family Grant was established to honor the memory of Willard John Classen by his two sons, Willard, Jr. and James, and to recognize the family's long involvement in and dedication to the profession of petroleum geology. Both sons are also petroleum geologists.

Willard Classen, Sr. was born in San Francisco, California on October 3, 1899 to the descendants of gold rush "49ers". After the great earthquake of 1906, his family relocated to what is now the city of Atherton. He entered Stanford in 1917, majoring in geology and mining, and graduated with the class if 1921. Upon graduation, he went to work for Standard Oil Co. of California and was sent to Texas and then to Guayaquil, Ecuador where he spent a year mapping in the jungle.

Upon returning to the U.S., he joined Tidewater, working in Alaska, Utah (where he met and married Zelda Ann Stark of Moab), And California. He was transferred to Tidewater's San Francisco office where he served as the assistant chief geologist. Willard left the company in 1934 to start a consulting career that included prospect generation, petroleum engineering, operations, oil and gas estate evaluation, and land leasing activities. During WWI, he served briefly as a private and then, in WWII, as an officer in the Air Corps where he attained the rank of Major. After the war, he returned to his consulting practice until retiring in 1971. He passed away in Menlo Park, California, on November 16, 1998.

His oldest son, Willard, Jr., now lives in California and is retired from Chevron where he served as a staff exploration geologist. His other son, James, heads Classen Exploration, Inc., and is an active Gulf Coast independent living in Idaho. A daughter is retired and lives in Palo Alto, California.

The family's participation in the exciting game of finding oil and gas began 80 years ago and continues through Jim Classen's activities.

The Classen Family Named Grant is awarded annually to a qualified graduate student through the American Association of Petroleum Geologists Grants-in-Aid program. Funding for the endowment comes from generous gifts to the AAPG Foundation from James Classen and Willard Classen, Jr., in memory of their father, Willard Classen, Sr.