David Bay Chalmers Sr.

David Bay Chalmers Sr. was born on the 17th of November, 1924 in Denver, Colorado, the son of Mrs. Dorritt Bay Chalmers and David Twiggs Chalmers Jr. Dave passed away peacefully on Wednesday the 27th of April 2022, at the age of 97 years old, at his home in Houston.

Dave attended grade school in Denver, Colorado and like his father served his country in the military – in the capacity of Lieutenant with the United States Marine Corps from 1943 to 1945, and 1st Lieutenant in the Korean War from 1949 to 1950. He matriculated to Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business, ultimately graduating in 1947 after his time in the military, subsequently attending Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program (49th AMP Class) in 1966. Soon after graduation, David realized that he wanted to be in the oil business – and quickly took the opportunity to visit his Uncle “Rick” Bay, living in Norway, to discuss working for his Denver-based firm, Bay Petroleum Company. Dave started off in the oilfield with Bay Petroleum, and was involved in all phases of the business from 1951 to 1955, eventually finding himself managing a book of business in the crude oil purchasing and sales department. This commenced what would be a long career in the commodity trading industry. From 1955 to 1973, he then held President and V.P. positions in Houston & Calgary with Tenneco Oil Company, Occidental Petroleum Corporation, Petrogas Processing, and Canadian Occidental Corporation - overseeing global trading and transportation activities for crude oil, refined products, natural gas, LNG, Sulphur products, and various petrochemicals. It was at this point that he struck out on his own as President of Coral Petroleum, Inc. which was involved in all facets (upstream, midstream, & downstream) of the energy business, running the organization from 1973 to 1989.

When he wasn’t building his empire, Dave thoroughly enjoyed golfing, tennis, traveling, and spending time with family and friends at his Mexico getaway, the Villa Coral.. and has travelled to and visited over 100 countries in his lifetime. He was the founder and steward of the Coral Petroleum Distinguished Professor of Renewable Energy Resources Fund at the University of Hawaii, an endowment now stewarded by his grandsons.

Dave is survived by his son, David B. Chalmers Jr., and three grandsons David B. Chalmers III, C. Taylor Chalmers, and Austen M. Chalmers.

The family will gather for a private service.