Lawrence James Kocurek

Lawrence James “Larry” Kocurek of Odessa, Texas went to be with the Lord on September 11, 2021.

Larry was born on December 30, 1957 to Eugene and Rosalie Kocurek in Annaville, Texas (now part of Corpus Christi). The third of four children, Larry attended St. John’s Catholic School in Robstown, TX and then the Calallen Independent School District, graduating with honors as salutatorian from Calallen High School in 1976. As a young child, Larry enjoyed many hours out in Grandma Kocurek’s fields where he built elaborate architectural buildings out of mud creating whole cities. He also enjoyed drawing, playing the saxophone, the organ, and singing in the church choir. His greatest enjoyment was spending time caring for his beloved rescue kitties (Max, Gussie Girl, Sweetcakes, Baby Cakes and many others) that he adopted into his home.

Larry would go on to obtain two degrees from the University of Texas at Austin, a Bachelor of Arts in Biology with High Honors, and a Bachelor of Science in Geosystems and Petroleum Engineering with Honors, adding minors in Chemistry and Mathematics. He worked hard to earn these degrees, as he also held various jobs in Austin throughout his time at UT in order to help pay for his tuition. Larry’s academic achievement led to his membership in honorary societies Phi Beta Kappa, Tau Beta Pi, and Beta Beta Beta, to name a few.

Upon graduation from UT-Austin in 1984, Larry moved to Houston to serve as a Reservoir Engineer for Elf Aquitaine Petroleum, before becoming an R&D Engineer at M-I Drilling Fluids. Larry then moved to the Cleveland, Ohio area in 1990 to take on responsibility as an Application Research Chemist and Team Leader with Lubrizol. During his time in Ohio, Larry also took masters-level courses in Petroleum Engineering from Cleveland State University, and he spent his spare time and weekends modeling for Modeling Association of America International.

Larry returned to Texas in 1994, serving as a senior engineer and lead instructor at the Petroleum Training Institute at the University of Houston-Victoria, before settling in the Arlington, Texas area in 1996. Larry held various engineering positions for Bestolife Corporation and KATS Coatings for his first few years in the Metroplex, before temporarily leaving the corporate world to teach high school science at Kemp Independent School District in 2003-2004. Larry returned to engineering in 2004 with Fritz Industries, before moving to Parker Hannifin Stratoflex in 2008.

Larry moved to his hometown of Corpus Christi in 2009 to take a job with Camber Corporation as an Engineer/Scientist. In this role, Larry contributed to the defense of our country by conducting studies dealing with chemical resistant paint and other coatings applied onto US Army helicopters. He then moved to Cibolo, Texas in 2011, where he worked as a Procurement Engineer for Sanjel Corporation. In 2015, Larry took another break from the corporate world and returned to the classroom as a substitute teacher in the Schertz, Cibolo, and Universal City ISD and the New Braunfels ISD. Larry obtained a specialization as a teacher in “Alternative Learning Experience.”

In 2017, Larry moved to the Midland/Odessa area, where he has held jobs with C&J Services/O-TEX Pumping and Stratum Reservoir, part of the Weatherford Corporation. Larry also worked as a long-term substitute teacher in the Ector County ISD, teaching science and math.

Larry’s lifelong love of learning and teaching led to his affiliation with many industry groups, including the American Chemical Society, the Society of Chemical Engineers, and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. Additionally, Larry holds two patents with co-inventors from his time at Lubrizol.

Larry was a lifelong devoted member of the Roman Catholic Church, and aimed to live his faith in all aspects of life.

Larry was preceded in death by his parents, Eugene and Rosalie Kocurek, and is survived by his brother, Eugene Kocurek, Jr. of Bluffton, Texas, sisters, Mary Poche (Mark) of Burnet, Texas and Jana Vance (Clayton) of Corpus Christi, Texas, numerous nieces, nephews, grand-nieces, and grand-nephews.

The family would like to thank the doctors, nurses, and front-line workers at Medical Center Hospital in Odessa who worked to help Larry battle COVID-19 in the last days of his life.

Visitation will be held on Thursday, September 30 at 5:00 PM at Memory Gardens Funeral Home in Corpus Christi, Texas, with a rosary at 7:00 PM. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Peter’s Prince of the Apostles Catholic Church in Corpus Christi on Friday, October 1 at 10:00 AM with burial to follow at Memory Gardens Cemetery.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.MemoryGardensFuneralHome.com for the Kocurek family.