Jesse R. ‘Bob’ Medaris ’49 of Tulsa, Okla., died June 14, 2010. Bob was born in Denver in 1922 and graduated from Englewood High School. In 1941 he enrolled at Mines, where he was a member of Tau Beta Pi, Sigma Gamma Epsilon and Blue Key. Before completing his degree, Bob served with the U.S. Army Air Corps, reaching the rank of first lieutenant with the 13th Air Force in the South Pacific. After the war, he returned to Mines and completed his professional degree in petroleum refining engineering. In 1945, Bob met Dorothy Patricia ‘Pat’ Shelley, whom he married in 1947 while on military leave in Sydney, Australia. After graduating, he joined Phillips Petroleum, and then, in 1954, began a 15-year career with Standard Oil in Venezuela, Libya and Indonesia.
His second career as manager of the studies department of Crest Engineering led the family to Tulsa, although Bob’s work took him to oil-producing areas around the world. When Crest Engineering moved to Houston in 1985, Bob stayed in Tulsa with Crown Tech and later moved to Fluor Daniels Williams Brothers, where he remained as a consultant until retiring in 1993. He enjoyed golf, travel, ice skating, and gardening, and was a favorite among children and pets. He is survived by his wife of 62 years; daughters Shelley Ricks and Tracey Norvell; three grandchildren; and one great-grandson.
