Joseph B. Obering

Joseph B. Obering, a geologist and oil company executive, passed away in Dallas on September 5, 2005. Joe Obering was born in San Angelo, Texas on May 11, 1933, son of Helen and Ernest Obering. Joe is survived by his wife Mihoko Kuroishi Obering and son Joseph Benjamin Obering of Dallas, son William R. Obering of New York City, son Christian Joseph Obering of Denver, Colorado, brother William M. Obering of Wilson, Wyoming, sister Mrs. Paul F. O'Brien, Jr., of Santa Fe, New Mexico, grandchildren Shauna, Tucker, and Wyatt Obering, and several nieces and nephews. Joe grew up in San Angelo, Midland, The Hague, and Mt. Vernon, Illinois, before the family settled in Oklahoma City in 1947. Joe attended Howe Military School in Howe, Indiana, Cranbrook Academy in Detroit, and graduated from Casady School in Oklahoma City. While still in high school, Joe started doing summer work for his father's oil company and began his life-long study of geology. He earned a bachelor's degree in Earth Sciences at Dartmouth College in 1956 and went to work for Warrior Oil Company, the family oil and gas business, in Denver, Colorado, focusing initially on the Denver-Julesburg Basin. In 1966, the Oberings took Warrior into the international arena, and as a signatory to the first Production Sharing Contract with the Indonesian government, became part of oil and gas industry legend. From that time until the sale of Warrior in 1999, Joe remained active in managing Warrior's interests in Indonesia. In 1985, Warrior moved from Denver to Dallas. Joe was knowledgeable in both the scientific and economic aspects of the oil and gas business and was highly respected by colleagues and associates around the world. Joe loved skiing, football, classic jazz, the opera, and was a student of Asian art, culture and world history. Joe taught his sons to love and respect the mountains, how to ski, and how to survive in the wilderness. The most important lesson he taught his sons was self-reliance and respect for others. Friends wishing to make memorial donations may do so to the St. Mark's School of Texas, the Santa Fe Opera, or to The Joseph B. Obering Foundation. A memorial service will be held at Sparkman Hillcrest Chapel at 10 a.m., Monday, September 12. Sparkman Hillcrest Funeral Home, 7405 W. Northwest Hwy., Dallas, TX 75225, (214)-363-5401.