Z. David Bonner

Z. David Bonner, Renowned Oil Company Executive, Dies at 89 Z. David Bonner, who was an Executive Vice President and Member of the Board of Directors of Gulf Oil Corporation and later Vice Chairman of Tesoro Petroleum Corporation, and who became an oil industry spokesman and defender during the mid-1970's oil price shocks, died in Austin, Sunday, December 21, 2008. He was 89 and lived in Lakeway, Texas. Mr. Bonner first gained public attention during a U. S. Senate hearing chaired by Senator Henry M. Jackson. According to a February 4, 1974 Time magazine article, Mr. Jackson, who was then running for the Presidency, said "these hearings have not turned up any hard evidence that the major oil companies deliberately created the crisis." Mr. Bonner, who was then President of Gulf Oil – U. S., vigorously defended his industry and at times during the hearing challenged Jackson and other Senators. After the hearing, Mr. Bonner said "They made me feel I was at a criminal trial." One of Mr. Bonner's responses to what Time called the "occasional demagoguery" of the hearing Senators, was to lead the establishment of a Chair for Free Enterprise at the University of Texas at Austin in order to teach students the value of free enterprise and to resist government nationalization of industry. A quarter of a century later, Mr. Bonner recognized the changing times and agreed to the re-missioning the Chair for Free Enterprise to teach and foster entrepreneurship and start-up companies. Mr. Bonner was born on February 23, 1919, in San Antonio, Texas, son of Willia Clyde Calhoun Bonner and Zora David Bonner. Mr. Bonner graduated from the University of Texas with the degree of Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering in 1941. He joined the Gulf Oil Corporation at its Port Arthur refinery and in July, 1941, was commissioned an ensign in the United States Navy. He returned to Gulf Oil in 1946, having achieved the rank of Lieutenant Commander. In 1958, he was named President Gulf Oil – Pacific and established Gulf's first office in the East Asia region in Tokyo. In 1961 he was named President of Gulf Oil – Eastern Hemisphere based in London. In 1966, he became President of Goodrich-Gulf Chemicals, Inc., a joint venture between Gulf and B. F. Goodrich in Cleveland. He returned to Gulf's headquarters in Pittsburgh in 1969 to form Gulf Oil Chemicals Corporation and soon thereafter was named a Corporate Executive Vice President and was elected to the Board of Directors of Gulf Oil. He was named President Gulf Oil – U. S. in 1972, based in Houston. In 1975 he became Chairman of Gulf Oil Chemicals and retired from Gulf after 37 years in 1979. Shortly thereafter, he was elected Vice Chairman and a member of the Board of Directors of Tesoro Petroleum in San Antonio. He retired eight years later from Tesoro. Bonner was named a Distinguished Engineering Graduate of the University of Texas at Austin in 1968 and served on the Engineering Foundation Advisory Council for over 25 years. He established the David C. Bonner Polymer Laboratory in 1979, the Z. D. Bonner Professorship in Chemical Engineering in 1984, and the Marisa and David Bonner Endowed Graduate Fellowship in Engineering in 1994 in honor of his grandchildren. Mr. Bonner was named a member of Tau Beta Pi, the Engineering Honor Society for his outstanding grades as a student. He was a Registered Professional Engineer in Texas. Mr. Bonner married Dorothy Shaw in San Antonio in March, 1941, and was the father of two children, David and Julie Ann. Mr. Bonner is survived by his wife of 67 years Dorothy Shaw Bonner, the love of his life; his sister Martha Bonner Miller; his children, Julie Ann Bonner and Dr. David C. Bonner; and his grandchildren Marisa Bonner Baltá and David F. Bonner. He will be forever remembered by his family for his loving engagement and education focused on those close to him. A private memorial service for Mr. Bonner will be held at St. Luke's on the Lake Episcopal Church in Austin, Texas, on Saturday, January 24, 2009. Donations in memory of Mr. Bonner should be given to the Mayo Clinic Foundation (c/o The Mayo Clinic and Foundation, Department of Development, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN 55905) and to the University of Texas Engineering Foundation (c/o The Cockrell School of Engineering, 1 University Station C2100, Austin, TX 78712-0284).