Roger G. Skinner

Roger Gilman Skinner passed away on November 8, 2024 at his home in Lafayette, Louisiana. Visitation for family and friends will be held from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 13, 2024 at Hill Crest Memorial Funeral Home. Services will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, November 14, 2024 at Hill Crest Memorial Chapel, followed by interment at Hill Crest Park.

Roger Gilman Skinner was born June 27, 1928 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. His family moved to the Haughton, Louisiana area when he was a boy, and he graduated from Haughton High School. He began work as a dairy farmer and route salesman, then went to work in the oilfield for the Carter Oil Company, which later merged into the company now known as Exxon. He started out as a roustabout, then roughneck, derrick hand, driller, and on up to drilling supervisor overseeing multiple offshore platforms and, later, production supervisor over multiple facilities. He retired from Exxon, and later came out of retirement to work as a consultant and for Fina Oil Company. His work took him to drill and produce oil and gas across several Southern states and offshore Louisiana, from the Valley in Texas, the Smackover fields, Jay, Florida, and many locations in between. He enjoyed his time consulting in India and learning about a new culture. At one time, he oversaw drilling what was then the deepest well ever drilled in the United States.

He was known and respected throughout the oilfield as a hard-working professional, as tough but fair boss, and a man of complete integrity. While he was successful in business, his greatest joy was being with his wife and family. He was a devoted family man, respected by all who know him. He loved to cook for his family and friends, from slow grilling a rotisserie full tenderloin, making a roux by hand and then a great gumbo, and producing maybe the best lobster bisque ever made. He would help anyone in need, and did so until the end of his long life.

He was preceded in death by his wife of sixty-five years, Jerry Ann Sneed Skinner, his parents Irvin Monroe Skinner and Carla Dorman Skinner, and his siblings Irma Skinner Reed, Irvin M. “Sam” Skinner, Kenneth Ray Skinner, Elinor Skinner Gibson, and Billy M. Skinner. He is survived by his children, Michael D. Skinner (Janet), Ronald O. Skinner (Susan), Diana Skinner Leger, Peggy Skinner Guibault, Jane Skinner Mallette, and Ruth Ellen Skinner, as well as numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, nieces, and nephews.

Pallbearers will be Michael D. Skinner, Colin Skinner, Stephen M. Guibault, Clayton Guess, Jr., Antonio L. Nuccio, Savino L. Nuccio, and Christian Bourgeois. Honorary pallbearers will be Ronald O. Skinner, Nathan Oliver, and David A. Gabriel III.