Peter K. Link

1930 - 2023

Peter K. Link, a longtime resident of Evergreen, Colorado, passed away on February 13, 2023 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. He was 92.

Peter was born on November 7, 1930 in Batavia, Java, Indonesia, son of Walter K. Link and Miriam (Wollaeger) Wilcox. As Peter's father, a petroleum geologist, traveled the globe for work, Peter spent his early years in Java, Costa Rica, and Cuba. Pursuing petroleum geology himself, Peter received his B.S. degree in geology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1953 and his M.S. degree in geology in 1955. He was a first lieutenant in the United States Army in Korea, 1955-1957. Peter and Marilynn Engel married in 1957. The coupled moved to Tripoli, Libya, and Peter performed four years of geological field work in the Sahara, an experience that had a profound effect on him. After a brief period in Ardmore, Oklahoma, Peter completed his Ph.D in geology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1965. He then worked for ARCO as a research structural geologist in Dallas (1965-1970) and then at AMOCO research center in Tulsa (1970-1973) before beginning a consulting career. From 1979 to his retirement in 2001, Peter was a lecturer for Oil and Gas Consultants International (OGCI), which offers a variety of short courses for petroleum industry workers around the world. Peter also taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Tulsa, and was the author of the textbook, "Basic Petroleum Geology". His career took him to over to over 115 countries, a fact he brought to the attention of those around him on a regular basis.

Peter and Marilynn had two children, Hillary and Bennett, and divorced in 1987. Peter and Lucille Bonebrake were married in 1990. Peter and Lucille moved to Evergreen together where Peter remained for the rest of his life, regularly proclaiming that he never wanted to live anywhere else.

Peter enjoyed travel, photography, music (especially dixieland jazz), and languages. Other hobbies he had during his life included fly fishing, skiing, hiking, golf, basketball, tennis, softball, choir, and, very briefly during the 1970's, disco dancing. Peter did volunteer field guiding and mentoring to school children in Evergreen. He was an accomplished personal pilot with twin-engine and instrument ratings. A self-declared curmudgeon, he was always happy to play Devil's advocate.

Peter is survived by his wife Lucille of Evergreen, his brother Andy of Houston, his son Bennett and daughter-in-law Carla of Livingston, Montana, three stepsons, and numerous nephews and nieces. Rather than gifts or flowers, please send donations to the Alzheimer's Association.