Obituary of Alfred Edwin Barroll

Alfred Edwin (Ed) Barroll, beloved husband, father and grandfather, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, January 1, 2008, at the age of 84 years. Ed was born in Calgary on May 22, 1923 and although he lived in many places throughout his life and had a deep fondness for Wales, his parents’ country of origin, Calgary was the place closest to his heart. The youngest of three children, Ed grew up in Alberta, where he enjoyed playing hockey and camping and backpacking in the Rocky Mountains. During WWII Ed joined the RCAF and served as a pilot of 436 squadron in Burma and was honourably discharged as a flying officer awarded the Burma Star. Following the war, Ed graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in petroleum engineering and came home to Alberta where he began working for Mobil Oil in 1950. It was during this time he met his future wife, Marie McGillivray. The two were married in Calgary, and although they moved often in the course of their life together during his career with Mobil, they always returned there. A true pioneer of the Canadian oil and gas industry, Ed enjoyed a long career with Mobil Oil. In addition to various positions in western Canada, he was operations manager for the Mobil affiliate in France for two years, operations superintendent in Denver, CO, and regional producing manager in Houston, TX for offshore production in the Gulf of Mexico. He was a Vice-President and Director of the Island Development Company; Mobil Energy Minerals Canada, Ltd.; Mobil Ventures; Executive Vice-President and Director of TransOcean Oil Canada Ltd.; a Director of Mobil Marine Transportation Ltd., Sovosco Petroleum Ltd. and Mobil-To Canada Inc. He was Chairman of the Saskatchewan and BC Divisions, and member of the Board of Governors of the Canadian Petroleum Association. After serving as Vice-President for exploration and producing, and as Director of Mobil Oil Canada Ltd, Ed elected to retire after more than thirty-two years with the company. He started his own consulting company, Barroll Resources and Consulting Ltd. and provided oil and gas consulting services to the Royal Bank of Canada, sat on the boards of many oil companies, including Challenger Drilling, and served as Chairman of the Board of Morguard, Guard Resources, and Petrocanada. Ed was a very active man with varied interests. His passion after retirement was for sailing and he embarked on a number of memorable and adventurous voyages to Hawaii, Spain, Queen Charlotte Islands and, single handed, to Bermuda. He loved opera, travel, Patrick O’Brian novels, anything by or about his hero Winston Churchill and spending summers at Shuswap Lake with his family and friends. His restless spirit never allowed him to be idle for long, and he was happiest there working on construction projects, sailing and boating, or climbing the trails up the mountains behind the family cabin with his little dog. Ed is survived by his beloved wife of fifty-seven years, Marie; his four loving children, Jane, Hugh, Catherine, and Mary; and his grandson Edward. He also leaves many dear friends and relatives from his life in Calgary and his years in the oil industry. He will be deeply and sadly missed by those fortunate enough to have known him. He was a man of great integrity, warmth and humour, whose courage and dignity never showed itself more clearly than in the last months of his life. We wish to extend our gratitude to the staff at the Mount Royal Care Centre, for their kindness and compassion during that time. Funeral Services will be held at McINNIS & HOLLOWAY’S, Park Memorial Chapel (5008 Elbow Drive S.W.) on Monday, January 7, 2008 2:30 p.m. Forward condolences through www.mcinnisandholloway.com. If friends so desire, memorial tributes may be made directly to the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Alberta, 200, 119 – 14th Street N.W., Calgary, AB T2N 1Z6 Telephone: (403) 264-5549, www.heartandstroke.ca. In living memory of Alfred Barroll, a tree will be planted at Fish Creek Provincial Park by McINNIS & HOLLOWAY FUNERAL HOMES Park Memorial Chapel, 5008 ELBOW DRIVE S.W. Telephone: (403) 243-8200.