Miner Barton Long

Miner Barton Long, 87, of Houston, passed away on June 29, 2011. He is survived by his sister, Patricia Long Johnson, his daughter, Susan Louise Long and husband Larry Marcotte, his son, Jeffrey Thomas Long and wife Ella Long, and grandchildren Kristin Long, Erica Long, and Sophie Long. He was preceded in death by his wife of 52 years, Sybil Wheaton Long. He was born in Hughesville, Maryland, on March 7, 1924, to E. Kendall Long and E. Louise Elston Long. He attended Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, majoring in Physics. He served in the Pacific in World War II as a sergeant in the Signal Corps, returning to finish his undergraduate degree and graduate from Oberlin in 1948. He and Sybil were married in 1948 in Elyria, Ohio. He began working for Shell Oil as a geophysicist in 1948, later attending Johns Hopkins University, graduating with a Ph.D. in Geology in 1953. He returned to Shell in 1953 as a geologist. He retired from Shell in 1984 as a General Manager in Exploration, and began pursuing the avocations of bird-, butterfly- and dragonfly-watching. He traveled and hiked extensively, particularly in coastal Texas, the Rio Grande Valley, New Mexico and Arizona. There will be a memorial service at 10:30 a.m. at Live Oak Friends Meeting, 1318 W 26th St, Houston TX 77008, on Monday, July 11, 2011. In lieu of flowers, friends are encouraged to contribute in Miner’s honor to the Nature Conservancy.