Albert Courter Golden III

Albert ‘Bert’ Courter Golden III passed into the loving arms of our Savior, Jesus Christ, on Thursday, the 5th of December 2019, at home in Katy, Texas at the age of 81 years old. Bert was born on the 1st of December 1938, in Thibodeaux, Louisiana and grew up in the oil fields. Later his family moved to Houston, TX where he attended Lamar High School. He earned his Bachelor of Science in petroleum engineering from the University of Oklahoma in 1961. He was a member of the Loyal Knights of Old Trusty, an OU engineering order. His choice of petroleum engineering and later, his professional life in the energy industry were highly influenced by his father’s and grandfather’s careers in the oil business.

Bert’s first job was as a petroleum engineer for Pan American Petroleum Company in Oklahoma City, OK. He later joined Amoco International as a senior engineer in the US and in Cairo, Egypt, where he lived with his family from 1966-1969. Upon returning to the US, he established Birdwell & Golden (1969) and later, Golden Engineering, Inc. (1973) where he served as President and Chairman in Houston, Texas for 20 years. Bert grew this and other related businesses to one of the largest consulting engineering groups in Houston with offices in Corpus Christi, TX; Lafayette, LA; Caracas, Venezuela; and Buenos Aires, Argentina. In addition, he served as CEO and President of several other companies, including Owl Creek Production Co., Inc. and Benchmark Oil and Gas Company. He continued to consult until his last year of life. Mr. Golden was a lifetime member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, the American Institute of Mining Engineers, and the American Petroleum Institute. He also belonged to the Society of Petroleum Evaluation Engineers and was a registered Professional Engineer in Texas and Louisiana since 1972. In 1981, he was appointed by President Reagan’s US Secretary of Energy to the National Petroleum Council, where he served until 1985.

Bert was a devoted Christian and along with his wife, Mira, served as a youth sponsor at Grace United Methodist Church in Oklahoma City, OK. They also began the youth group at their church in Cairo, Egypt that consisted of young people from 25 countries. He counseled many junior and senior high school students during this time and was able to grow the youth group to 75 plus members. Bert, along with Mira, became members of Chapelwood United Methodist Church in Houston, Texas on Easter Sunday, 1977, and remained close friends with their minister, Dr. Kelly Williams.

Bert loved being in the oilfield, traveling-especially to Hawaii with his wife Mira, boating, reading spy novels and Zydeco. Some of his favorite foods were oysters, gumbo, and pumpkin pie. He was a soft-spoken, gentle, caring, humble man who kept those around him laughing with his quick wit. Bert was a dreamer and a comeback kid, overcoming many challenges with perseverance and hope.

Bert is preceded in death by his mother Thelma Loyce Fuller Golden, his father Albert Courter Golden II, his brother Thomas Fuller Golden, his grandson Gabriel Joseph Maamari, and his brother-in-law Wayne Brenham. He is survived by his loving wife of 60 years Mira Beth Cook Golden of Katy, TX; his adoring daughters Shirley Golden Maamari and her husband Maher Maamari of Katy, TX; Rebecca Golden Timsar and her husband Salim Timsar of Houston, TX; and Courtney Golden Cook and her husband Benjamin Cook of Castaic, CA; his sister Cathy Golden Ryan and her husband Jim Ryan of Tulsa, OK; and sisters-in-law Becky Cook Brenham of Houston, TX and Beverly Bost Golden of Tulsa, OK. He has seven surviving grandchildren: Nicholas and Isabella Maamari; Angelina and Raphael Timsar; and Savannah, Jonah, and Lucas Cook.

Friends are cordially invited to a visitation with the family from six until eight o’clock in the evening on Tuesday, the 10th of December, in the library and grand foyer of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston.

A funeral service is to be conducted at eleven o’clock in the morning on Wednesday, the 11th of December, in the Jasek Chapel of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons.

Immediately following, all are invited to greet the family during a reception in the adjacent grand foyer.

Interment will follow at half-past two o’clock, via an escorted cortege, at Memorial Oaks Cemetery in Houston.

Those honored to serve as pallbearers during Wednesday’s services are Greg Brenham, Scott Brenham,

Benjamin Cook, Jonah Cook, Lucas Cook, Maher Maamari, Nicholas Maamari, Raphael Timsar, Salim Timsar, Leandro Vargas

Serving as honorary pallbearers are Jim Atchley, Bill Burks, Bob Grace, Richard Naill, Coy Smith, Frank Steed, Dr. Frank Yelin

The Golden family is deeply grateful to everyone for their prayers, kindness, and love during this difficult time.

The family requests that memorial contributions in Bert’s name be made to: The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network https://www.pancan.org; MD Anderson’s pancreatic cancer research program “Moon Shots” https://www.mdanderson.org/cancermoonshots/cancer-types/pancreatic.html; The Chapelwood Foundation www.chapelwood.org/foundation, Teresa Cannon, 713-354-4485.

Bert’s Favorite Prayer was the Serenity Prayer

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

The courage to change the things I can,

And the wisdom to know the difference.

- By Reinhold Niebuhr