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In Memory

Dennis Cratsley

Dennis Cratsley

May 9, 1998

DENNIS W. CRATSLEY

By Thierry M. De Cort

New Orleans, Louisiana - Dennis W. Cratsley, a petroleum geologist and member of AAPG for 16 years, died suddenly of a heart attack at his home in Houston, Texas on May 9, 1998.  He was 50 years of age. Dennis and his wife Rosalind had recently moved from New Orleans to Houston, where he had accepted the position of exploration geologist with Petrobras America, Inc. 

Dennis was born in Youngstown, Ohio, and graduated from Youngstown State University in 1971, with a B.S. degree in geology.  Upon acceptance to the graduate school at Louisiana State University (LSU), Dennis moved to Louisiana to continue his studies of geology and marine sciences.  In 1975 Dennis earned an M.S. degree in marine science/marine geology.  Dennis remained at the LSU graduate school working toward a Ph.D. until 1977, when he began his career in the oil and gas business. During this time, Dennis discovered the mystique of New Orleans and the South, and he passed many hours roaming the grounds of Mississippi River plantations, the French Quarter, and the historic cemeteries while enjoying his hobby of photography. 

His professional career began in 1977 when he joined Amerada & Hess as a geologist in their North American Exploration, Joint Ventures group in Houston. While at Amerada Hess, Dennis worked as an explorationist in the western, central, and eastern Gulf of Mexico, as well as the Atlantic outer continental shelf.  In 1980 Dennis joined Ocean Production Co. in New Orleans. Later that year he moved back to Houston to work for Texas Eastern Exploration Co., where he became senior staff project supervisor.  Following the sale of Texas Eastern's exploration division in 1987, Dennis remained with the company and served as senior planning coordinator for Texas Eastern Gas Pipeline Co.  From 1989 to 1991 Dennis worked as a consulting geologist in the Houston area, working on many projects, including one with IBM in Clear Lake, Texas, where he was involved with the "Mercury" E&P database management system.  In January 1992, Dennis and Roz moved back to New Orleans and he joined the Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service.  Dennis spent six years with MMS working as a geologist in the Geological and Geophysical Section in the Office for Resource Evaluation.

In December 1997, Dennis accepted a position with Petrobras Americas Inc., and was happy to be back in Houston working in the industry he loved.  Dennis and Roz had just moved into their beautiful and newly remodeled home and were looking forward to entertaining their many friends with dinner parties and wine tasting as they had so often done in the past.

We mourn the loss of our dear friend and offer our heartfelt sympathy to his widow, Rosalind, and their families.

Memorial contributions in Dennis' memory may be made to the New Orleans Geological Society Memorial Foundation or to the Houston Geological Society Scholarship Fund.

 
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03/01/16 01:14 PM #1    

Robert Grace

Dennis was a good friends and we had many adventures together both at Ursuline and during college breaks. I had lost track of him and was sad to see him on the In Memory list. I am glad to find out what ever became of Dennis. So sorry he left this world so young.


03/01/16 06:35 PM #2    

Jack Wilster

When you leave high school and your classmates, everyone takes their own path and in most cases losing track of one another. I totally missed Dennis' obituary, while I was impressed at his accomplishments I can't help but think how much more he could have done if not taken so young. RIP my friend!!


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