Douglas Weatherston

He was born, Jose Rafael Martin Douglas Weatherston, Salcido on November 11, 1897 in Misantla, Veracruz, Mexico to Douglas Weatherston of Toronto, Canada and Rafaela Salcido Weatherston of Sinaloa, Mexico.

His parents, a Canadian cavalryman, cowboy and planter and a lady whose family had owned lands in the San Dimas area and had mining interests, had moved to Misantla. Douglas was brought up in the high coffee lands where his father created the first hydroelectric plant in the region for milling, processing operations, and utilities and where he built roads and led in other developments. They chose to settle in this area and raise Douglas and his four sisters Marina, Carmen, Concepcion, and Elena.

Papa, as he was affectionately known by his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, often regaled them all with exciting stories of his youth. He enjoyed seemingly unlimited freedoms coupled with a great enthusiasm for life in the untamed regions of Mexico a hundred years ago. His remarkable memory for detail never failed to entertain and amaze. Papa's adventures ranged from horseback travel in treacherous mountain terrain as a child, to his voyage to Canada in April of 1912 while rounding Cape Hatteras they received news of the sinking of the Titanic, to lying on the floor of a train car in 1918 as it was fired on by Pancho Villa's troops.

Douglas's education began at a private kindergarten, he then attended public school in Misantla first through fifth grades. In 1910 Douglas was attending school in Mexico City at Marscarones, a Jesuit School, at the start of the revolution against Diaz he returned to Misantla. In January of 1912 he was sent to the Williams School in Tacubaya just outside of Mexico City to start the sixth grade. Accompanied by his mother and sisters, Douglas traveled to Canada in April of that same year to visit relatives and improve his English. From September 1912 to September 1916 he lived with his aunt and uncle in Winnipeg, Canada attending school there and at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. He returned to Mexico in 1917. In his travels around Mexico Douglas saw much fighting as the revolutionaries battled the federal army.

His college education began with a year at MIT which was interrupted when Douglas joined the British Latin America Volunteers to fight in World War I. He served as a sergeant in Nova Scotia, then sailed for Liverpool. It was while he was in the Royal Air Force Ground School preparation for pilot training that the war ended and he came away and attended USC. He then attended the University of California at Berkley, earning a degree in 1923 from the College of Mines, which had been endowed by William Randolph Hearst. It was at Berkley where he met his wife, Ruth Warfield. They were married in Douglas, Arizona in 1923. On March 4, 1928 they were blessed with a son, George Douglas Weatherston.

Douglas worked in northern Mexico for Phelps Dodge and later for the Mexican Power and Light Company in Mexico City. Returning to the U.S., he was employed by Superior Oil Company of California. He later worked for Pauley Petroleum Company of Los Angeles, California and was instrumental in convincing the Mexican government to allow Pauley an American company to drill for oil and gas in nationalized Mexico. In the early 1950's he and his son, George, founded Weatherston Oil Company, which was later incorporated into Discorbis Oil Company. Douglas Weatherston had a passion for life and lived it to its fullest. By example, he instilled this passion into the lives of his family and others he loved and cherished. He stayed actively involved in matters of family life and the oil business until his last day. Only minutes before his death, he called his office to check on the spot market price for crude oil and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Douglas Weatherston is preceded in death by his parents, sisters, daughter-in-law Ann Waide Weatherston, and grandson-in law John Marvin. He is survived by his son George Weatherston of San Antonio and grandchildren Doug Weatherston, Lindsay Marvin, Butch and Peggy Sue Klein, and Nicholas and Janet Weatherston all of San Antonio, and Mark and Phyllis Weatherston of Charlotte, Texas. His nine great-grandchildren Gary Marvin, Rocky and Shannon Marvin Brown, Ryan Weatherston, Carolyn Weatherston, Joshua Weaver, Marci Weaver, Emily Weaver, Landry Weatherston and Mallory Weatherston also survive him.

Memorials to the charity of your choice are requested in lieu of flowers or other remembrances.

The Weatherston family extends special thanks to Magdalena, Alma, and Carlos Bonilla for the excellent care and friendship they have provided in Douglas's last years.