John Albert Wickland Jr.

WICKLAND, John Albert Jr.

Who established an international oil marketing and distribution company died last Thursday in his Carmichael home on the American River. He was 84.

Born on October 27, 1920, Al grew up in Orland, California and attended UC Berkeley majoring in Electrical Engineering. He left the university to enlist in the US Army Air Corps and came home on leave to wed Mary Elizabeth Linton in Carson City, Nevada on February 4, 1942. He served honorably as a B-26 instructor throughout the South in World War II.

After the War, Al returned to Orland where he and Mary raised a family of four children. In 1954 he founded Wickland Oil Company which grew to be one of the largest independent oil marketing and distribution companies in the United States. Wickland Oil Company owned and operated Regal Stations, a chain of gasoline and convenience stores throughout Northern California, Oregon and Nevada. The Company was considered a low cost operator which enabled them to undercut much of the major competition. Regal Stations was one of the very first companies to offer low cost, self-serve fueling in the area. The Company also supplied many independent service station operators and commercial firms with gasoline and diesel fuels in the three western states.

Wickland Oils international commodities trading and oil storage business had operations world-wide and was one of the first US firms to open trade relations with China in 1980. Throughout the 1980's and early 1990's the Company became the primary importer of low priced Chinese gasoline to the US. According to his son Roy, Dad was very proud of the fact that the company had the ability to purchase gasoline in large marine tanker quantities from most any source in the world and then transport the product direct to a Regal Station, allowing customers to benefit from the considerable savings. The company had oil storage and distribution facilities throughout California and in China, Australia, Singapore, Far East Russia and the Caribbean. In 1998 & 1999 most of the business operations were sold to a variety of multinational oil companies.

He was very generous with his time and belonged to many local, state and national organizations. He was a charter member and co founder of the Orland Rotary Club, a member of YMCA, a trustee of the advisory board of Chico State University, co founder or the California Independent Oil Marketers Association and the Pacific Oil Conference and a member of the American Petroleum Institute.

In 1972 he and Mary moved from Chico to Sacramento where he became a member of Fremont Presbyterian Church, Sacramento Rotary, The Sutter Club and Del Paso Country Club. An avid boater, he piloted his boat, the Regal Lady through the Panama Canal numerous times and explored much of the North America coastline with family and friends. He was a member of the Jonathan Club, the St. Francis Yacht Club, California Chamber of Commerce and the Sacramento Host Committee. Mary, his beloved wife for 58 years, preceded him in death in the year 2000.

He is survived by his wife of three years, Beatrice Rogers Wickland, his children John, Valerie, Roy and wife Janet, Laurel Hall and husband Daniel, eleven grandchildren and his sister Evelyn Larson of Orland.

Service will be held at Fremont Presbyterian Church on Mon., Jan. 24th at 2:00 pm. Remembrances may be made in his name to the Sacramento Childrens Home.