William Flint Obituary

Bill passed from this earth at the age of 86 at Hospice House of Mercy in Durango, Colorado after suffering a stroke at home.

Bill was born in San Jose, California and graduated from Hollister High School where he was class president and participated in a number of sports, primarily pole vaulting. He earned a Bachelor's degree and a Master's degree in Petroleum Engineering from Stanford University, Palo Alto, California. He was a member of the El Toro Eating Club. His premier sport was pole vaulting. As he said (and even had a T-shirt made) with the saying, "When men and poles were made of steel". They used absolutely rigid steel poles and landed in sawdust pits. He tied one of the Olympic gold medalists and a world champion at their heights.

He had two ancestors of note. He is a descendant and name sake of William Bradford, who arrived on the Mayflower. During the gold rush the Simon Breen family joined the Donner party in route to California. The family was isolated from others in the party and all survived.

He enlisted in the Reserves of the US Army Corps of Engineers and was a Second Lieutenant.

He joined Unocal Corporation (Union 76) in 1959 as an Engineer Trainee, a career which then encompassed 33 years of progressively more responsible positions. Reservoir Engineer (Coalinga, CA), Staff Engineer Natural Gas & Gas Liquids - Los Angeles (1963-1967), Production Engineer - Oklahoma City (1967 - 1970), Area Superintendent Woodward, OK (1970 - 73), District Engineer, Northern California District - Santa Maria, CA (1973-1979), District Operations Manager Casper District -Casper, WY, (1979 - 1984, Vice-President and General Manager Balikpapan, Indonesia, (1985 - 1990) and Vice-president of North American Oil and Gas Division, Los Angeles (1990 - 1995)

He retired and moved to his wife's home state in Durango, Colorado where he enjoyed golf, tennis, and following his children around to their various athletic endeavors.

Flunking retirement, he joined the Department of Energy of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe as a senior petroleum engineer from 2004 - 2012; and for a time as Assistant to the Executive Director.

His final gig was as Senior Technical Counsel for Koveva Ltd from 2012 until 2018.

He is survived by his wife of 39 years, Susan Terrill-Flint and six children. Susan Klucker (Kurt), Jim (Susan), Carol Andreatta (Dave), Ken (Abbey), Lance Thomas (Lauren), and Tiffany Caron (Brian). Plus 18 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents, William Bradford Flint and Violet Cecile Moran Flint and his former wife of 25 years, his high school sweetheart Janet Schleuss.

It is hoped the Chinese virus will abate enough for interment to occur in summer in his home town of Hollister, California.

He will be remembered for his kindness, his love of sports, his dedication to family, his generosity, wicked sense of humor and his positive outlook. A teacher and mentor at heart, he is lauded by friends and family for his dedication to encouraging everyone to be their best. A core piece of advice was: "Proper prior planning prevents poor performance". Whether bringing in a new trainee or supporting a grandchild's athletic endeavors, he was able to see their strengths and to smooth their path.

"Don't cry because I'm gone.

Smile because I was here"

In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made to Hospice House of Mercy