Ralph Ervin Williamson

Born in Midland on November 16, 1946, Ralph was a graduate of the Phillips Exeter Academy of Exeter, New Hampshire, and he was an Engineering major and Geology double-major at Stanford University, from which he received the BSPE. He first knew he was in trouble as a young Texas boy up in New Hampshire at Exeter when the Yankee boys poured indelible ink on his homework papers and when his bedside water-glass froze overnight. He always said he chose Stanford over Harvard because he didn’t ever want to be that cold again. He held a Master’s degree in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Texas, as well as a law degree from St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio. He met his wife, Marsha Cope Huie, in Innsbruck, Austria, when she walked in as professor of his European Union Law class, and they have been drowning each other in historical-trivia arguments ever since.

He served in the military police during the Vietnam Era and delighted in telling about his one assignment directing traffic at Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin. Fluent in French and Spanish, he managed to travel the world, often with his wife and children.

Ralph was an engineer, a geologist, and an attorney specializing in oil-and-gas law and interstate military divorces. He spent the majority of his professional career as an oil-and-gas producer operating in the Permian Basin of West Texas and East New Mexico. He was 14 years old when his dad let him participate in his first oil-and--gas deal, and he has thrived in the business ever since, even in the downtrodden years of the 1990’s. Nobody worked longer hours than he. He was president and CEO of CRW Corporation and CRW-SWD Corporation. His widow, who is an attorney, and his daughter Elizabeth will continue managing his companies.

His parents preceded him in death: “JC” John Conwell Williamson in 2001 and “Jerry” Lois Geraldine Williamson in April 2011. He leaves his wife Marsha Cope Huie of San Antonio and three beautiful daughters: Charlotte Amalie Williamson of San Antonio, third-year law student; Elizabeth Anne Williamson, an oil-and-gas investment banker in London, England; and Barbara Halina Williamson, third-year geology major at the University of Texas in Austin. Ralph was a loving father and husband who adored his three daughters. Nothing made him smile more than his children’s successes.

One sister, Margaret Williamson Hillin of Midland, preceded him in death. He leaves three beloved sisters: Mary Jane Williamson Wilmeth of Midland, Charla Williamson of Midland, and Toni W. Croft of Anchorage, Alaska.

Without doubt he knew every nuance of the Civil War and World War II and could baffle us all with his illegible drawings of the orders of battle in every major field. He loved life and crammed an extraordinary variety of business-management, law-practicing, and acquisition of knowledge into his almost 65 years. He was a giant of a man, literally and figuratively, standing 6-feet-four. A scholar who loved learning and continually sought knowledge, Ralph was an earth scientist, drilling engineer, attorney, serious amateur historian, bibliophile, philatelist, numismatist, oenophile, philanthropist, and mentor to many. A Renaissance man has left us.

A funeral service will be at 1:00pm on Saturday, October 1, 2011, at The Episcopal Church of the Holy Trinity in Midland. Interment will follow at Midland’s Resthaven Memorial Park. As yet unscheduled, a memorial service will be held in San Antonio by the Bar Association. Arrangements are under the direction of Ellis Funeral Home of Midland, Texas. Condolences can be made at: www.ellisfunerals.com.