Donald L. Luffel

Donald L. Luffel (89), of Houston, passed away on Tuesday, January 24, 2017. He was born on Oct. 4, 1927 to John and Katherine Luffel in Fort Scott, Kansas. Don graduated from Fort Scott High School as valedictorian (1944). There he met and later married his high school sweetheart, Beverly Ann Grubb (B. Ann). Don and B. Ann moved to Houston Texas soon after the birth of their first child. Don and B. Ann were married for 65 years.

After one year at the University of Kansas, Don served in the U. S. Coast Guard during World War II in 1945 and 1946, followed by 2 years of service in the Naval Reserves. He completed his B. S. in Chemical Engineering at the University of Kansas in 1949 and then joined Humble Oil & Refining Co. (later Exxon) in the Production Research Department in Houston for 16 years. Don then spent 21 years in the Exploration Headquarters. His primary responsibility was evaluation and testing of important exploration wildcat wells for Exxon U.S.A. He supervised production testing at the first exploration well in Prudhoe Bay in 1968 in Alaska. In 1979 Don was among the first Americans permitted into Communist China, as guests of the Chinese government. There he spent 6 weeks as part of a team of 8 men from Esso Exploration sent to survey China’s oil and gas fields.

In 1986, after 37 years, Don retired from Exxon. After leaving Exxon he continued to work for another 23 years with ResTech Inc. as a special consultant in reservoir engineering and well evaluation. He was primarily involved in projects for Gas Research Institute of Chicago. Don, a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and the Society of Petrophysics Well Log Analysts, has published over 20 papers in related journals, and has been granted several U.S. Patents including several that were instrumental in the recent exploration and recovery of shale oil and gas.

Don was a devoted husband, father to his 4 children, and grandfather to 5 grandchildren. He was always there for his children and could be counted on for help and advice in any situation. Each summer he would treat the family to eagerly anticipated long summer vacations spent driving and camping throughout the western US. These trips instilled a love of the outdoors and culminated in his construction of a second home in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Here he and B. Ann enjoyed the peace and beauty of the mountains, and served as a retreat for the family to congregate for many years. Don maintained a lifelong love of the sea, spending much of his spare time sailing with friends and family, and happily performed the endless tasks of maintaining his sailboats.

Don was preceded in death by his brothers John Luffel, Jr., and George Luffel, and is survived by his sister Louise Luffel Parsons. He was also preceded in death by his wife of 65 years, Beverly Ann Grubb Luffel. Don has three sons, Lawrence, Thomas and his wife Patricia, Robert and his wife Gerry; daughter Meredith Luffel Emmott; grandchildren Lauren Luffel Stillwaugh and her husband Detrik Stillwaugh, Sarah Luffel, Katherine Luffel, Kyle Emmott, Brooke Emmott; and great grandchildren Daxton Stillwaugh and Kaya Stillwaugh. Friends are invited to a Memorial Service and Reception with the family at 10AM on Tuesday, February 21st at Memorial Oaks Funeral Home.