Roger W. Stoneburner was born in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, on November 16, 1922. His early years were spent in Wooster, Ohio, where his father was a professor at Wooster College. Roger graduated from Wooster in 1946 after serving three years in the U.S. Army. He received his M.S. degree in Geology from the University of Kansas in 1948 and began his career as a petroleum geologist with The California Company, a subsidiary of Standard Oil Company of California.
Roger rose rapidly in Calco, attaining the position of Division Exploration Manager for the Delta Division in South Louisiana, at that time the most active division in Standard of California’s exploration operations. In 1955, he moved with his family to Houston, Texas, where he supervised exploration for several independent oil companies. The last twenty years of his career were spent with Union Texas Petroleum where he retired as Vice-President of International Exploration in 1986. He successfully organized and supervised exploration programs in many parts of the world, with emphasis on Europe and the Far East.
Following retirement, he and his wife Jean, moved to Lake LBJ in the Texas Hill Country, where he opened an office as a consultant. After several years of illness, he died on January 27, 2006, at the age of 84.
Roger was an active member of AAPG for more than fifty years and also held membership in the Houston Geological Society. He served as Deacon and Elder of the Presbyterian Church in several different congregations. He was a member of the Board of Trustees of Wooster College.
Roger’s career as a petroleum geologist allowed him to do what he loved and afforded him the opportunity to work with and experience people from all parts of the world. His gentle and caring nature was easily recognized and greatly appreciated by those who were fortunate to be counted among his friends. Roger’s love of his profession was contagious– his son, Dick, and his grandson, Reid McCarty, are both following in his footsteps as petroleum geologists.