Carl Anders "Andy" Bengtson

Andy Bengtson
Carl Anders 'Andy' Bengtson died peacefully on August 16, 2002, with his sons by his side. He was 86. Andy was a kind, generous, and intelligent man, who was devoted to his wife and family. He retained his good nature and gentle humor throughout his decline, bestowing a final gift and lesson to his sons.
Andy was born in Chicago, Illinois on July 16, 1916, to Edith Matson Bengtson and the Rev. Carl Oscar Bengtson, pastor of the Immanuel Lutheran Church. Andy's grandparents immigrated to America from Sweden, and he grew up amidst Swedish culture. In 1938, Andy earned an AB degree in geology from Augustana College, and an MS degree from the University of Iowa in 1940, where he was awarded the Frank Lowden Prize. Andy instructed geology at North Central College and North Park College, while pursuing doctoral studies at the University of Chicago. In 1942, Andy enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, and received a Certificate in Meteorology from the University of Chicago as an Aviation Cadet. Andy then served as a Weather Officer (Head of the Upper Winds Forecasting Section), HQ Eighth Fighter Command, at Bushey Hall, England, until the end of the war. Andy attained the rank of Captain, and participated in the weather forecast for the D-Day Normandy invasion.
After the war, Andy moved to California in 1946. On August 28, 1948, Andy married music teacher Edla Carolyn Johnson, in a service officiated by Edla's father, the Rev. Emil J. Johnson, and Andy's father. Andy and Edla were married for 54 years. Andy enjoyed playing tennis, model railroading, and studying the stock market. He also enjoyed taking family car trips throughout the west, especially Wyoming, which he had explored by horseback before the war. Andy took his family to Europe twice during the 1970s, and returned in 1994 to participate in the D-Day memorials.
Andy worked at Chevron from 1946 to 1982 as a structural geologist, subsurface geologist, and seismic interpreter for California and Alaska. One thrill for Andy was flying by helicopter 300 miles above the Artic Circle to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. While at Chevron, Andy invented SCAT (Statistical Curvature Analysis Technique), which revolutionized the interpretation of dipmeter data, an essential tool for discovering oil. Used proprietarily for years, in 1980 Chevron allowed Andy to publish SCAT in a ground-breaking article appearing first in the Oil & Gas Journal. Ten years after its release, Andy's colleagues enthused in the AAPG Explorer magazine that SCAT was "the best thing ever to come out of Chevron Research," and "had probably saved Chevron hundreds of millions of dollars." Andy would author or co-author a dozen articles related to SCAT, including applications for artificial intelligence, and was invited to speak about SCAT at numerous geophysical conventions. More than twenty years after its first publication, SCAT is still hailed as a classic.
Andy was preceded in death by his brother John, and is survived by his wife Edla, brother Earl of Chicago, son Bruce and Lyra Bengtson of San Francisco, son John and Kristin Bengtson of Walnut Creek, and granddaughters Linden, Arden, and McKenna.
A Memorial Service celebrating Andy's life will be held on Saturday, October 12, 2002, at 1:30 pm, in the Club Room of the Heather Farms Park Community Center in Walnut Creek. For information contact John@SilentEchoes.net.