John Mainwaring Obituary

Durango resident John Robert Mainwaring Jr. died from injuries suffered in a car accident on U.S. Highway 550 north of Durango on Friday, Sept. 11, 2009. He was 56.

Mr. Mainwaring was born to Edith Chambers and John Robert Mainwaring Sr. in Denver on April 7, 1953. His early years were spent in Lakewood, and when he was in junior high school, his family moved to Ponca City, Okla.

Mr. Mainwaring trained for and obtained his pilot's license while working at a local airport when he was in high school. He attended the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma, where he met his future wife, Angela "Angie" Gayle Jacobs. He graduated first in his class with a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering.

On June 26, 1977, the couple married in Tulsa. They lived in Anchorage, Alaska; Farmington; and Houston and Midland, Texas, where Mr. Mainwaring pursued his career in the oil industry with Atlantic Richfield Co. For the last six years, he had worked for the Southern Ute Indian Tribe Growth Fund in Durango and Ignacio, first as president of Aka Energy Group and more recently as president of Red Willow Production Co.

"Mr. Mainwaring was always an active part of his children's lives and was there for all of their music, sports, dance and academic activities," his family wrote. "He also loved flying, and his family enjoyed many trips together in their small airplane."

He was an active member of the First United Methodist Church of Durango.

Mr. Mainwaring is survived by his wife, Angela Mainwaring, of Durango; son, Michael Mainwaring, who is attending the Colorado School of Mines in Golden; daughter, Kathryn Mainwaring, who is attending Texas Technological University in Lubbock; mother, Edith Mainwaring, of Durango; and brother, Timothy Mainwaring, of Jacksonville, Fla.

A funeral will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009, at the First United Methodist Church of Durango. The Rev. Jeff Huber will officiate. A reception will take place afterward.