Donald Ray Unruh

 

Donald R. Unruh died of complications from Covid on December 31, 2023, in Tulsa, OK.  The second of six children born to Dewey and Lorene Unruh, Don graduated from Independence High School in 1955 and ICJC in 1957.  He ultimately earned a BS in Chemical Engineering from Kansas State University in 1962. He married Barbara Woods in 1958 and welcomed his first daughter, Kelli, a year later in 1959, and his daughter Karri in 1963.

After beginning his career as a refining Process Engineer with Mobil Oil, Don moved to Conoco in 1967, where he remained for over thirty years, retiring as a Corporate Vice President in 1998.  His career brought his family to many different locations including Augusta, Kansas; Beaumont, Texas; Ponca City, Oklahoma; Denver, Colorado; Lake Charles, Louisiana; Immingham, South Humberside in the UK; and Houston, Texas.  After retiring from Conoco, Don consulted and served on the boards of directors for numerous small oil companies.

Don’s many areas of interest included golf, fishing, football, and WW II history.  He was a master storyteller and loved to just sit and talk for hours about anything you wanted to talk about.  He made friends wherever he went and enjoyed keeping in touch with his many friends around the world.

Don lived a very full life and will be sorely missed by his wife of 65 years, Barbara; daughter Kelli and son-in-law Chuck Williams; daughter Karri Unruh; grandson Mike and wife Megan Williams along with his great-grandson, Connor; granddaughter Sarah Williams; sister-in-law Barbara Jean Unruh; brother Mike and sister-in-law Susan Unruh; and sister Mary and brother-in-law Ed Robinson.

Graveside services will be held at Mount Hope Cemetery in Independence, Kansas on Thursday, January 11th at 1:00 PM. To leave the family a special message of condolence, please visit, www.pottsfuneralhome.com.