William E. Gipson

William Earl Gipson passed away on Thursday, the 23rd of March 2023, at the age of 98. He was born in Winters, Texas, on the 6th of September 1924 in his grandparents’ home on Church Street to William Francis Gipson and Martha Marguerite Edwards Gipson. His family moved to Gilmer, Texas, when he was a young boy, where he was raised and attended public school. He excelled at football in Gilmer High School, where he earned full athletic scholarships, and he went on to play fullback for Kilgore Junior College. After receiving an associate degree from Kilgore College, he entered Southern Methodist University, where he continued to play football.

Bill’s studies and football at SMU were interrupted in 1944 when he enlisted in the United States Navy. After graduating from US Navy Midshipman’s School, he was commissioned as an Ensign. He was assigned to the USS LCS(L)-45, a Landing Craft Support amphibious warfare vessel, and he saw action in Borneo in June 1945. Later his ship was assigned to mine sweeping duty in various Pacific Ocean locations.

After his honorable discharge from the Navy as a Lieutenant Junior Grade, Bill returned to Texas and entered the University of Texas at Austin, earning his BA with Honors in 1948 and his MA in 1949, both degrees in petroleum geology. Upon graduation, he began working for the Ohio Oil Company in Midland, Texas, before becoming an independent consulting geologist in the Texas oil and gas industry. Later he was recruited by the Pennzoil Company as Senior Vice President of Exploration and in 1967 he moved to the company’s headquarters in Houston, Texas. In 1977, Pennzoil spun off its wholly owned subsidiary, Pogo Producing Company, where he served as its President, COO and board member until his retirement.

Bill had many interests and hobbies which he pursued with passion throughout his long and productive life. He loved his family and many lifelong dear friends. In the early 1950’s he bought a farm in east Texas outside of Gilmer where, for the rest of his life, he raised timber and bred registered Santa Gertrudis cattle. He also was a lover of fine wine and had a world class palate. He was a member of a number of wine tasting groups in Houston over the years, and at the time of his death he was a member of the Seventh of April group. In the mid-1980’s Bill became an investor in and subsequently the owner of Pheasant Ridge Winery, one of Texas’ premier winery and vineyards located in the AVA "Texas High Plains" near Lubbock. The winery produced world class estate-grown Cabernets and Pinot Noirs and also Chablis, until he sold the winery and vineyards by auction in 2013.

Bill was an avid fly-fisherman, fishing in Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Canada, Argentina and elsewhere. For many years he carried his fly-fishing gear in the trunk of his car just to keep it handy. He also enjoyed bird hunting in south Texas. He was a lifelong student of American history, and he loved reading and traveling the world. When at home, if you mentioned a place you had recently visited, he’d go pick up his world atlas and turn to the area you mentioned and begin telling you about his experiences there. He loved his maps.

Over many years in Houston, he was a member of the All American Wildcatter Association, a board member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), the Houston Downtown YMCA, and the Houston Club, of which he was a past president. Bill was on the advisory committee of the University of Texas at Austin Jackson School of Geology, a booster of the SMU Mustang football team, and a member of the DeBakey Heart Institute Advisory Council at Houston Methodist Hospital, among many other organizations. He was a member of Church of St. John The Divine Episcopal church in Houston.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents and his daughter, Elizabeth Anne Gipson Bird. His survivors include friend and partner, Mary Rinaldi; son, William Earl Gipson, Jr. of Fort Worth; daughters, Carolyn Gipson Allen of Austin, and Judy Gipson Dean of Louisville; eleven grandchildren; numerous great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren; and by his cousins, E.F. Edwards of Fort Collins, Colorado and Dr. Jon Edwards of New York City, New York.

The family wishes to express its sincere thanks to the doctors and medical professionals of the Houston Methodist Hospital system and Bill’s in-home care givers, Zennia Snyder and Mary Ann Ortega , as well as Iveth Rivas with Connie’s Health Care, Inc. The family also thanks Erwin Hudson, Bill’s good friend and trusted farm manager for many years, for continuing the cattle and timber operations at Bill’s farm in Gilmer, Texas.

Friends are cordially invited to gather and share remembrances during a visitation with his family from five o’clock in the afternoon until seven o’clock in the evening on Friday, the 28th of April, in the grand foyer of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston.

A memorial service and celebration of Bill’s life is to be conducted at eleven o’clock in the morning on Saturday, the 29th of April, in the Chapel of the Church of St. John the Divine, 2450 River Oaks Boulevard in Houston.

Immediately following, all are invited to once again greet the family during a reception in the nearby Sumners Hall.

In lieu of customary remembrances, and for those desiring, the family requests with gratitude that memorial contributions in his name be directed to the Church of St. John the Divine; 2450 River Oaks Boulevard, Houston, TX, 77019; to Houston Hospice; 1905 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, TX, 77030; (direct links to both accessible by selecting the "Donations" icon below); or to the charity of your choice.

We invite you to take a few moments to share fond memories and words of comfort and condolence with his family by selecting the "Add a Memory" icon below.