Philip Boalt "Phil" Lorenz

1920 - 2018

Philip B. Lorenz, age 97 and longtime resident of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, passed away at his home in Bartlesville on Monday, May 14, 2018.
Philip Boalt "Phil" Lorenz was born on August 14, 1920 in Dayton, Ohio. He was the son of Karl K. Lorenz and Caroline E. (Boalt) Lorenz. He spent his early years in Dayton, where he attended school through junior high. In 1934, the family moved to Oakwood, a suburb of Dayton, and Phil graduated from Oakwood High School with the class of 1937. After high school, he attended Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, where he received a BA degree in Chemistry in 1941. He received his Master's and Ph.D. in Chemistry from Harvard University in 1946 and 1949, respectively. In 1943, he was recruited to assist in the War effort by joining the Manhattan Project at Columbia University and later Oakridge, Tennessee. In 1945, Phil returned to Harvard to complete his postgraduate education.
On June 2, 1946, Phil married the love of his life, Irene F. McNeil in Princeton, New Jersey. In 1949, Phil joined the Bureau of Mines in Bartlesville as a Research Chemist in Basic Hydrocarbon Production Research at their Petroleum Research Center. Phil and Irene made their home in Bartlesville, where Irene was organist and choir director at the First Christian Church for many years. Following Irene's passing in 1994, Phil continued living in the family residence until his death.
Phil was a longtime member of First Presbyterian Church in Bartlesville, where he was very active as a Deacon, Elder, choir member, Sunday school teacher, and volunteer in many other activities. Over the years, he was active in many volunteer community activities, such as Boy Scouts of America, the Literacy Council and Kairos prison ministry. Phil was an active and passionate advocate of environmental conservation and preservation, and worked tirelessly on behalf of many projects and causes. He was a member of the Technical Career Advisory Committee in Bartlesville, as well as being a member of Sigma Xi Club and the American Chemical Society.
Phil is survived by his three sons, Douglas of Houston, Texas, Eugene of Syracuse, New York, and David and his wife Patricia, of Dayton, Ohio; four grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
He was preceded in death by his parents and his wife, Irene.
It was Phil's longtime request that his body be given to the University of Oklahoma Anatomical Donation program. He will be interred beside his beloved wife Irene in Meredith, New Hampshire.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial donations in Phil's name be given to the Nature Conservancy, or to the charity of choice.
Plans for a memorial service in Bartlesville are pending, and will be announced later. Services are under the direction of Arnold Moore & Neekamp Funeral Home of Bartlesville. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.honoringmemories.com.