San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)

Larry Funkhouser

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Larry Funkhouser was called to his heavenly home on May 22, 2022. Born in 1921 in Napoleon, Ohio, he was a mere 2 weeks shy of his 101st birthday when he passed away peacefully, 10 minutes after saying his last words, “I’m doing GOOOD!”

He was born to Edward and Margaret Funkhouser, along with older brothers Paul and Harold. He received his A.B. degree in Geology from Oberlin College in 1943 and was elected to membership in Phi Beta Kappa. It was there that he met Jean, who would become his beloved wife in 1946. A lucky man!

Larry served honorably in the U.S. Air Force during World War II and was stationed in North Africa. After the war, he enrolled in Stanford University and received his M.S. degree in Geology in 1948. Soon afterward, he joined the Standard Oil Company of California (now Chevron) in New Orleans as a field geologist. After several subsequent promotions, Larry was named Director and Vice-President of Exploratio­n and Production for Chevron Corporatio­n in 1976. In that position, he guided Chevron’s worldwide upstream activities until his retirement in 1986.

During his career, he was an active member in a number of profession­al and industrial societies and associatio­ns. Most notably, he served as President of the American Associatio­n of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) in 1987-88, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the AAPG Foundation from 1991 to 2001. He was given the Sydney Powers Memorial Award in 2004, AAPG’s highest honor. In addition, he received the Chairman’s Award in 2004 and the L. Austin Weeks Memorial Medal in 2010, both prestigiou­s AAPG Foundation awards. Oberlin College awarded him an honorary Doctor of Science degree in 1990, and in 2018, Larry was honored with Stanford University’s School of Earth, Energy & Environmen­tal Sciences Distinguis­hed Alumni award.

As impressive as his profession­al career was, he was even more acclaimed as a husband, father and friend. He and Jean had 4 children Don, Tom, Dave and Karen. Larry and Jean were happily married for over 56 years before her untimely death in 2003. A few years later, romance was rekindled as he married another Jean in 2007, whose family has been friends with the Funkhouser­s since those early New Orleans days, around 70 years now.

Larry thoroughly enjoyed traveling. Upon his return from a trip, he would often exclaim, “Home. The best place on Earth!” But after a week or two in his domicile, he was usually busy planning the next adventure. He was an avid sports fan, loyally following the Giants, 49ers and Warriors throughout the decades, win or lose. Well, mostly “win.” Armed with an easy smile and a sharp sense of humor, he was known to laugh until he cried on several occasions. And that laugh was contagious!

If you were a friend of Larry Funkhouser, you were a friend for life. His rolodex of close acquaintan­ces was formidable, although he outlived most of them. He was also known as a fair and caring boss and made a point of knowing about his employees’ families, as he was an early proponent of the concept of balancing work and private life.

As a dad, he was peerless. Generous, compassion­ate, loving and ultimate role model are just a few of the superlativ­es that describe his fatherly attributes. The fact that he lived so long has given the family a veritable treasure trove of memories that will be cherished forever and shared with future generation­s.

Larry is survived by his wife, Jean #2, and his sons Tom (Bonni) and Dave (Sue), daughter Karen and daughter-in-law Jane. Also survived by Jean’s daughters Susan (Charlie) and Sara (Robert), and son Dick (Sarah). His legacy will be carried on by 6 grandchild­ren and 2 great-grandchild­ren, plus another on the way, assuring an adequate supply of Funkhouser­s for the foreseeabl­e future. Love you, Dad. You were awesome in every way. ****************** A private memorial service and celebratio­n of Larry’s life will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, contributi­ons to one of the following organizati­ons would be appreciate­d:

AAPG Foundation, P.O. Box 979, Tulsa, OK 74101

https://foundation.AAPG. org

Stanford School of Earth Sciences, Mitchell Building, Suite 101, Stanford, CA 94305 https://earth.stanford.edu Oberlin College, Geology Department, 50 West Lorain Street, Oberlin, OH, 44074

www.oberlin.edu/artsand-sciences/department­s/ geoscience­s

Linda Choy Young grew up as a native San Franciscan and died peacefully on May 15, 2022 in Honolulu, Hawaii with her family by her side.

She was a social worker and spent over 4 decades working for On Lok Senior Health Center in San Francisco, California. Linda was also a long-time member of the Presbyteri­an Church of Chinatown.

Linda leaves behind her husband, Victor; and their three children Michelle, Matthew, Martin, and her grandson Grayson.

A memorial service will be held on June 5, 2022 at 12pm at Cypress Lawn in Colma, CA. Masks are required for all attendees. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in her memory to Cameron House, 920 Sacramento Street, San Francisco, CA 94108.

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