ORVILLE DUANE GAITHER SR.

1927-2017

Orville Duane Gaither Sr. quietly ended his journey on Earth and went on to be with his LORD and Savior on the morning of Thursday June 29th, 2017.Orville considered himself a Houstonian and was a well-known oil man, inventor, author, aviator, and philanthropist. He was an avid outdoorsman, hunter, rancher, fisherman and enjoyed taking his friends to the family ranch in the Texas Hill Country.

Orville was born in Timpson, Texas on April 13th, 1927, the oldest child of Mildred and E.B. ‘Pop’ Gaither. Pop was a pioneer aviator and crop duster and Orville’s family moved frequently in the early years chasing the crops from Tampa, Florida to Brownsville, Texas, ultimately settling in Houston when Orville was in grade school. He was an eager learner and a voracious reader. He held a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Rice University, a Master’s Degree in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Houston, and was a graduate of the Stanford Business School. He was also a Registered Professional Engineer in Texas and Louisiana.

His greatest life accomplishment was marrying the love of his life, Mary Margaret Love on February 12, 1955. Margaret was Orville’s Number One fan who helped him to succeed in his professional career and to raise their four children.

Orville worked for Amoco Oil Corporation for more than forty-three years. From 1979-1991 he served as the President of Amoco International’s, Africa and Middle East Region, where he negotiated some of Amoco’s most significant concessions with Presidents and Rulers around the world. His many job assignments included frequent travel and several extended overseas assignments. He found that in many ways, companies operating abroad sent their expats on foreign assignments with little knowledge and untrained resulting frequently in family disruption. With the help of his wife, Margaret and friends, John and Phyllis Kepler, Orville set out to develop a comprehensive guide to living life abroad in the family perspective. The result was a book entitled Americans Abroad, which soon became known as ‘the Bible’ for international companies preparing their personnel for international assignments and living abroad.

His professional accomplishments include the 1990 Presidency of the International Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), and in 1991 the University of Houston Engineering Society recognized Orville as a Distinguished Engineer in the Fields of Mechanical and Petroleum Engineering. In 1994, both the SPE and the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers (AIME) named him an Honorary Member for his leadership, distinguished service and noteworthy technical contributions to the oil and gas industry. In 1995, Orville was recognized by the George R. Brown School of Engineering and the Rice Engineering Society, receiving the Outstanding Engineering Alumni Award.

Orville has advised in various capacities on many industry related issues, and for several years he served as the Chief Energy Officer for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. He also served for more than 10 years on the Board of Directors of Ensco International Incorporated (“Ensco”), a premier global offshore oil and gas drilling contractor. After retiring in 1991 from Amoco, he joined with two of his three sons to form Gaither Petroleum Corporation. At the same time Orville mentored his youngest son David, to form Chemject International.

An adamant advocate of social responsibility, Orville always gave freely of himself, his financial resources and his time. He was a founding member of Spindletop International Charities, an organization promoting goodwill and fellowship within the oil and gas industry while benefiting children in need. Since 1966, with Orville’s help and support, over $10 million was raised to aid such programs as child abuse prevention, pediatric medical research, drug and alcohol abuse prevention and rehabilitation, education and scholarships. Orville remained actively involved in Spindletop from its inception until his death and served as president in 1985 and the Chairman in 1986. He was honored for his commitment to Spindletop in 1989, receiving the prestigious ‘Mr. Spindletop’ Award.

In part through his commitment to Spindletop, Orville and his wife, Margaret, were instrumental in the founding of Odyssey House of Houston. Established in 1989, Odyssey House still provides treatment and education to youth and families whose lives have been affected by addiction and abuse. Orville had a vision of providing comprehensive services to achieve lasting changes in the values and behaviors of drug and alcohol addicted youth.

Orville was involved in Scouting all of his life and earned the rank of Eagle Scout. He passed his Board of Review prior to turning 18 years old, but due to his enrollment in the US Navy in 1944 during World War II, Orville did not receive the Eagle Scout Award before shipping overseas. Long overdue, Orville Gaither’s Eagle Court of Honor was held in 1988, when he was 61 years of age. This made him the oldest Eagle Scout to whom the award has ever been conferred and the Eagle Scout Class of 1988 was named in honor of this accomplishment.

Orville acted as the President of the Northwest Suburban Council of the Boy Scouts while stationed in Chicago and immediately became engaged in an active role with the Sam Houston Area Council upon returning to Houston from his numerous overseas assignments with Amoco in 1980. He has served as Vice President of the Council and is a Life Member of the Board of Directors. He was the Sam Houston Area Council representative to the National Jamboree in 1993, was a recipient of the Silver Beaver Award and he is still the only American to ever receive the Golden Poui Award, the highest Award of the Trinidad & Tobago Scouting Association. In 2009, Orville received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. This award is granted to Eagle Scouts who, after 25 years, have distinguished themselves in their profession and who have shared their talents with their communities on a voluntary basis. To date this Award has been bestowed on less than twothousand of the more than two million Eagle Scouts. Among those having received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award are such men as Astronauts Neil Armstrong, former Secretaries of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates, Aviator Adventurist Steve Fossett and President Gerald Ford to name a few. Orville was subsequently named a Regent for Life of the National Eagle Scout Association. Orville was proud to note that the Gaither’s have three generations of Eagle Scouts and that he was here to witness each of his three sons receive the National Outstanding Eagle Scout Award, an award given to men who have given a lifetime to their profession, avocation, community and beliefs, at great sacrifice to themselves and their families.

Above and beyond his dedication to education, his profession, the Boy Scouts of America, and the many charities he supported, his ultimate dedication was to his family. He and his wife Margaret recently celebrated 63 years of marriage and were well known for their incredible love affair. Orville is survived by his wife, Margaret; his sister, Mary Louise Gaither; his three sons, O. Duane Gaither II (Christine), Douglas Gaither (Cindy), David Gaither (Ginger); his daughter, Dona GaitherGuerrero (Rafael); and grandchildren, O. D. Gaither III, Lillian Gaither, Chelsea Gaither, Michael Gaither, Nicholas Gaither, Anne Gaither, Adriana Guerrero, Callan Gaither and numerous nieces and nephews.

A service and Celebration of his Life will be held Saturday, July 8, 2017 at First Christian Church of Houston located at 1601 Sunset Boulevard (corner of Sunset Boulevard and Rice Boulevard) beginning at 11:00 A.M. The family has requested that in lieu of flowers, contributions in honor of Orville D. Gaither Sr. can be made to Spindletop Charities at www.spindletopcharities.org