The Cullen College of Engineering expresses its condolencses to the family, friends and colleagues of F. Tim Pease, a graduate of the University of Houston and an important figure in the development of advance offshore drilling rigs.
A native of Wyoming, Pease earned his undergraduate degree in civil engineering from Rice. He later earned his M.S. from the University of Houston in civil engineering. He started a distinguished career with the Offshore Company in 1962.
Pease developed several innovations, which are detailed in a 2015 column in World Oil.
“At a time when Gulf of Mexico deepwater was considered 150 ft, one of his first assignments became one of his most significant accomplishments,” Emily Querubin wrote. “The 500-foot water depth Discoverer was the largest drillship of its kind. Pease’s revolutionary moored turret design allowed the ship to rotate 360° around a central turret, maintaining heading into the seas.”
Pease spent more than 30 years with Offshore, and several industry awards – the Blakely Smith award from the Society of Naval Architects & Marine Engineers in 1995; one of 15 Offshore Energy Center's inaugural Industry Pioneers in 1998; and Offshore Energy Center's Technology Pioneer for Mobile Drilling (1999).
In 1997, Pease sat with Joseph A. Pratt for a four-part interview as part of the Houston History Project. That audio is available here, hosted by the University of Houston Libraries Special Collections.
According to his obit, in 1953 he married Wanda Darlene Turner and went on to have three children – Gregory Tim, Jonathan Randall, and Stacia Darlene. He and Darlene enjoyed a life of world travel until her diagnosis of dementia. A loving and devoted husband, he became her full-time caregiver for almost 10 years until her death in May 1999. They were married 46 years. Sadly, he was also predeceased by sons Jonathan (1962) and Gregory (2015).
In 2003, he married second wife, Sharon Kelley Shelton, with whom he had the pleasure of sharing the rest of his life. They met at a company reunion and shared industry backgrounds, similar interests and life experiences. Together they made new memories traveling around the world including numerous "Wild West" trips to the farm in Wyoming.
Friends are invited to celebrate Pease's life and share remembrances Saturday, June 15 from 5-7 p.m. in the grand foyer of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive, Houston.
In lieu of customary remembrances, the family requests with gratitude donations be made to the following organizations which Tim felt strongly about supporting:
- The Existing Greater Houston Chapter of TSPE Scholarship. Please make checks payable to the University of Houston, and in the memo line put “Greater Houston Chapter of TSPE scholarship in memory of Floyd Tim Pease.” They can be mailed to University of Houston, Cullen College of Engineering, C/O Engineering Advancement, Engineering Building 2, Room E421, 4222 Martin Luther King Boulevard, Houston, TX 77204.
- The St. Jude Children's Research Hospital at https://www.stjude.org.
- The Houston Food Bank at houstonfoodbank.org.
- The Tunnels to Towers Foundation at https://www.t2t.org.
Please visit Pease's online memorial tribute at GeoHLewis.com where memories and words of comfort and condolence may be shared with his family.