Obituary of COLTON – Francis Andrew

December 7, 1931 – September 26, 2010 Frank Colton, beloved husband of Penny of Calgary, passed away peacefully and unexpectedly after a short stay at the Rockyview General Hospital on Sunday, September 26, 2010 at the age of 78 years. He was expecting to be back home shortly and attending the luncheons of the Petroleum History Society, Canadian Society of Exploration Geophysicists, CSPG, APEGGA, and the Calgary Mineral Exploration Group. His extended family of friends in the UK included the Twisk family of Marlborough, having been a Formula 2 race car mechanic in the late 50’s and early 60’s for Tulip Motor Racing, driven by Klaas (Jim) Twisk, and a truck driver for their flower shops on the Strand. Frank served as a radar technician in the Royal Air Force in the early 50’s on air bases in the UK and in Egypt. His electronics training prepared him for later work on seismic crews (land and offshore) as a “seismic observer” for Petty Ray in Niger and Chad, as a seismic survey navigator or gravity operator for Western Geophysical, CGG, and GSI. He came to Canada in the 60’s and worked in Toronto, ON, and the Yukon, before he ran airborne EM surveys for Barringer and met Penny on survey crews in the NWT. After moving to Calgary, he worked for Seiscan Delta as a geophysical processor. He returned to offshore survey drill rig positioning for the Canmar and Beaudrill activities in the Beaufort, as well as other contracts in the North Sea, and offshore Africa. He served one year as president of the Prairie Schooner Branch of the Canadian Hydrographic Association and operated gravity surveys and rig positioning on ice sheets in the High Arctic, before he retired in approximately 1992 – after the Calgary based flotilla of seismic survey vessels and drill ships exited the Beaufort Sea and northern exploration. Besides his loving wife Penny Colton, P.Geoph, Frank is survived by sister Jean Francis Leopard of Twickenham, UK; nephews, David and Mark Leopard also of the UK; and many cousins in the UK; and sister-in-law Sally Reesman (Izmeth) of Burnaby, BC. Frank was predeceased by his parents, Francis Ernest and Sarah Colton of the UK. Funeral Services will be held at McINNIS & HOLLOWAY’S Fish Creek Chapel (14441 Bannister Road S.E.) on Saturday, October 2, 2010 at 2:00 p.m. Forward condolences through www.mcinnisandholloway.com. In living memory of Frank Colton, a tree will be planted at Fish Creek Provincial Park by McINNIS & HOLLOWAY FUNERAL HOMES, Fish Creek Chapel, 14441 BANNISTER ROAD S.E. Telephone: (403) 256-9575.