Joseph G. Richardson

JOSEPH G. RICHARDSON, a gentle man of integrity, courage and purpose, passed away peacefully at his home on November 18, 2007. He was born on October 28, 1923 in Gulf, Texas to Jane Allsup and David Richardson. Joe Received both Bachelor of Science and master degrees in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M University in 1947 and Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1948, respectively. He was inducted into the U.S. Army in 1943. His Army training included Electronics School at Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Radar School at Eastern Signal Corps Training Center, Ft. Monmouth, N.J., and Antiaircraft Artillery School at Camp Davis, N.C. Joe served his country as Radar Maintenance and Repair officer, Harbor Defenses of Balboa, Canal Zone. During his service he attained the rank of First Lieutenant and received an Honorable Discharge in 1946. in 1954 Joe received an Honorable Discharge from the U. S. Army Reserve. He was active in the Boy Scouts of America for several years as Scoutmaster during which time he received an award for scouting leadership. In 1948 Joe began his career with Humble Oil & Refining Company. "Joe was an industry- recognized, world-class reservoir engineering expert. He served as the principle advisor regarding the management of many of Exxon's most important oil and gas reservoirs and was especially effective in dealing with governmental agencies, competitor oil companies, and professionals of foreign oil companies." Joe received Exxon's Award of Excellence, Outstanding Lecturer, Advanced Reservoir Engineering School in 1973, 1975, 1977 and 1980. He was a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Texas. His professional society memberships included the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), the American Petroleum Institute (API), and the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). Joe served on or chaired many Society-wide committees, particularly in publications, for the SPE during his career with Exxon which included: Technical Editorial Committee, Monograph Committee, Editorial Review Committee, Nominating Committee, Guidelines for Estimating and Auditing Reserves Committee. Policies and Guidelines for Publications Committee, Waterflood Reprint Series Committee, Annual Meeting Program Committee, Cedric K. Ferguson Medal Committee, and DeGolyer Distinguished Service Committee. He was the first Senior Technical Editor for the SPE Journal of Petroleum Technology from 1976 to 1979, writing 38 Technology Summary columns. Joe served on the SPE Board of Directors from 1980 to 1982. He received the Lester C. Uren Award in 1977, the Degolyer Distinguished service Medal in 1978 and was chosen Distinguished Member by the SPE in 1983. He was elected Honorary Member by the SPE in 1987 and Honorary Member by the AIME in 1988. In 1988 he was elected to be a member of the National Academy of Engineering and cited " for pioneering studies of oil recovery by water flooding and water imbibition, and for development of broadly applicable reservoir engineering technology". He received the SPE Legion of Honor Award in 1988. Joe was the author or coauthor of over 50 publications and holder of three patents. He was included in Who's Who in Engineering, fourth edition. After 38 years with Exxon, Joe retired from Exxon Production Research Company (EPR) in 1986 as Senior Engineering Scientist, the highest position on EPR's professional ladder at that time. Following retirement, he was a partner in Richardson, Sangree, & Sneider and president of J. Richardson Consultants, Inc., both Houston based consulting companies. Joe is survived by his wife of 36 years, Patricia Richardson, sons Joseph G. Richardson, Jr., Jonathan R. Richardson, Joel G. Richardson, daughter Janet G. Richardson, and brothers William O. Richardson and Charles W. Richardson and wife JoAnn. Visitation and graveside services were held on November 21, 2007 at memorial Oaks Funeral Home and Cemetery, Reverend James Clark officiating. For those desiring, remembrances in Joe's memory may be made to M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Brain and Spine Center, P.O. Box 4486, Houston, Texas 77210.