Thomas ‘Tom’ S. Schalk ’49 of Wichita Falls, Texas, died February 16, 2012. Born in Fort Collins, Colo., in 1924, his family moved several times before landing in Tulsa, Okla., in 1937, where Tom attended high school. After joining the Army Air Corps at Fort Sill, Okla., in 1943, he was sent to study pre-meteorology at the University of New Mexico and later Cal-Tech. Upon graduation, Tom was commissioned as a second lieutenant and assigned to Chanute Field, Ill. After being discharged from the corps in 1946 as a first lieutenant, Tom moved to Casper, Wyo., where he played semi-pro basketball for Western Oil Tool.
He also played basketball and baseball at Mines, where he earned a professional degree in petroleum engineering, and was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. Tom began his career in the oil business in 1949 working for Sharples Oil in Midland, Texas, where he played basketball for Rotary Engineering. An independent oil producer from 1957 until his retirement in February 2012, he was a registered professional engineer in Texas and New Mexico, and was a member of many professional organizations. He was preceded in death by his wife, Betty June, and son Jim. He is survived by his son, John; daughter Susan; and granddaughter Gigi.
