T. Don Stacy, SPE, died on 3 October 2014 in Houston, Texas. He was 80 years old. Stacy served as SPE president in 1983 and as vice president of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME) in 1985. Several significant events occurred during Stacy’s tenure as SPE president. In 1983, ground was broken in Richardson, Texas, for SPE’s new headquarters. That was accompanied by the creation of the SPE Foundation and the first SPE endowment to own and finance the headquarters building. In an October 2007 JPT article celebrating SPE’s 50th anniversary, Stacy wrote, “The construction of the new headquarters and the undertaking of these accompanying actions signified a cultural shift—SPE was no longer just a constituent society of AIME, but its own worldwide body of professionals, standing apart from any other organization.” Also during his term, SPE changed its bylaws to create a new standing committee for the purpose of using personal computers to solve petroleum engineering problems.
Stacy started his career with Amoco in 1956. He worked in several roles with Amoco, including vice president of production for the company’s Central and South American region, president and chairman of Amoco Canada, and chairman and president of Amoco Eurasia Petroleum Company. Stacy served as nonexecutive chairman of the board of Crestar Energy, and as a corporate director for Camco International, Noble Affiliates, Alberta Energy Co., and Agrium. He also served as chair of the first SPE/US Department of Energy Enhanced Oil Recovery Symposium in 1978 and of the Offshore Technology Conference. He was a member of the AIME board of directors from 1982 to 1985.
Stacy received SPE Distinguished Membership in 1983 and a Distinguished Service Award in 1986. He was made an Honorary Member of AIME and SPE in 1992. In 1998, SPE presented Stacy with its Public Service Award for humanitarian efforts, primarily on behalf of refugees in Azerbaijan. In addition to SPE and AIME, he was active in a number of civic and professional organizations, including the Junior Board of Achievement of Southern Alberta, Canadian Petroleum Association, and United Way of Calgary. He was a member of the board of governors of the US-Russia Business Council and a co-chairman of the US-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C. Stacy also served in the US Air Force. He held BS and MS degrees in petroleum engineering from Louisiana Tech University and a PhD in engineering science from Mississippi State University.