Robert Bob Lawrence Blanton

Born and raised in Alabama, Bob decided at an early age that he wanted to be a geologist and graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a B.S. in geology. In 1951 he accepted a position as a petroleum geologist with the subsidiary of a company that became Amoco. He retired in 1994 as the Chairman and President of Amoco Eurasia. During his 43-year career, Bob worked in Amoco’s domestic operations in Lake Charles, Lafayette, New Orleans, and Chicago and in its international operations in Chicago, London, Buenos Aires, and Houston. He considered his greatest achievements to be the new ventures he pursued for Amoco in China, Russia, and Azerbaijan. He was a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists for 54 years. He was a graduate of the Stanford Executive Program.

Bob is survived by his loving wife of 60 years, Dean; his daughter Lynne, of Park Ridge, Illinois; his son Richard Lawrence and daughter-in-law Candace Haigler, of Raleigh, North Carolina; his brother Richard Coleman and sister-in-law Cathy, of Watkinsville, Georgia; his cousins Martis Lee, Louise, and Frankie, of Birmingham, Alabama; and two nieces, Susan and Cindy.

The family appreciates the wonderful care and support Bob received during his last years from Bessie, Lizzie, Jane, John, Angela, Brian, Varlia, and the Hospice of Wake County. The attentive care of Dr. Rushad Shroff is also appreciated.

A memorial service for Bob will be held at 2 P.M. on Saturday, January 29, in the chapel of Edenton Street United Methodist Church, preceded by private inurnment of Bob’s ashes in the church’s Columbarium. The family will greet guests in the church parlor after the service.

For those wishing to make contributions in Bob’s memory, he designated the scholarship created by his Amoco colleagues on the occasion of his retirement: Texas Tech Foundation Robert L. Blanton Presidential Scholarship, Texas Tech University, College of Arts and Sciences, c/o Cathey Forrest, Box 41034, Lubbock, TX 79409.