John Gary Fitzgerald was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Orville Grayble Fitzgerald and Mildred Dierker Fitzgerald. Gary graduated from Mt. Lebanon High School, earned his B.S. degree in Petroleum Engineering from Marietta College, and his M.S. in Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University.
Upon graduation from Penn State in 1963, he joined Standard Oil Company of California (Chevron Corp.’s predecessor company), where he moved through a series of drilling, production, and reservoir engineering assignments with increasing responsibilities in California, Texas, and Louisiana. Following management assignments in reservoir engineering and operations, he was appointed Division Manager, Oil Recovery, Chevron Oil Field Research Company in 1982, and Assistant Secretary of Chevron Corporation in 1984.
On completion of the merger between Gulf Oil Corporation and Chevron in 1985, Gary was consecutively appointed, Division Manager, Houston Division; Chief Engineer, Central Region (1988); and General Manager, Eastern Gulf of Mexico (1990) for Chevron USA Production Company.
In 1992, he was appointed Transition Manager to manage the reorganization of Chevron USA Production Co., and concurrently, President of Chevron PBC Inc., a subsidiary subsequently traded to Pennzoil Company for 4.7% of the common stock of Chevron Corporation. Following completion of that transaction, he was appointed General Manager-Production, for Chevron Europe in 1994, and in 1996, moved to Caltex Pacific Indonesia (a Chevron and Texaco 50/50 affiliate) first as Sr. Vice President, then as Executive Vice President and Managing Director in 1998.
Upon the announcement of the Chevron Corp. and Texaco Inc. merger in October 2000, Gary was named to the Chevron Merger Team, and led the Team that reorganized Chevron and Texaco’s international upstream businesses into one company, Chevron Texaco Overseas Petroleum. At the completion of the merger in October 2001, he retired with 38 years of service.
Gary attended Southwestern University Law School, and is an alumnus of Cornell University’s Executive Development Program. In 1996, at the 100th anniversary of the Earth and Mineral Science College, he was honored by Penn State as a Centennial Fellow. A lifelong active member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, he was recognized by the Society in 1998 as a Distinguished Member.
Gary is survived by his wife Sharon O’Brian Fitzgerald, two daughters, Erin (Andy) Taylor and Megan Andrews; two sisters LeAnne Wherley, and Marlene (Jay) Coleman, and four grandchildren, Margaret, Calum, and Blaire Taylor, and Wiley Andrews.
Celebration of Life is scheduled for Thursday, March 4 at St Vincent the Paul Chapel, 6800 Buffalo Speedway, Houston, TX 77025 at 10:00 a.m. Reception to follow at Houstonian Manor House, 111 North Post Oak Lane , Houston, TX 77024,
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