James Warner Mathis

James Warner Mathis, born to James Simms Mathis and Mary Louise Mortimer in Cotton Valley, La., on October 1, 1930, died August 2, 2008, in Austin, Texas. He was 77. Jim (known as Jamie by family) is survived by his wife of 53 years, Lorene Buchner Mathis of Horseshoe Bay, Texas; daughters, Sally and husband, Ian Ramsay of Houston, Anne and husband, Darryll Matz of Dallas; and two grandchidren, Travis Ramsay and Emily Matz. He is also survived by stepmother, Mary Virginia Mathis of Hattiesburg, Miss.; brothers, Ralph Mathis (Lynda) of Anchorage, Alaska, Ron Mathis (Laura) of Green Bay, Wis., Lowell Gilliland (Barbara) of Lumberton, Miss., and Jeff Gilliland of Slaughter, La.; and sisters, Martha Grandy (Charles) of Locust Grove, Va., and Mary Thompson of Hattiesburg, Miss.; aunt, Melba Glass and numerous nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents and sisters, Gloria Litvine and Margaret Joyner.

Jim’s family lived thoughout East Texas and northern Louisiana before moving to Natchez, Miss., where he graduated from Natchez High School in 1947. He graduated from Texas A&M College in 1951 with a degree in petroleum engineering, was a member of the Corps and served as president of Tau Beta Pi, honorary engineering fraternity, his senior year.

Jim met and married the love of his life, Lorene, in June 1955 and she and their family followed him as he worked the oil industry in Texas, California, Louisiana, Libya, Indonesia and other global locations, monitoring and calculating Chevron Corporation’s global reserves. Early in his career, Jim helped pioneer offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. He retired after 40 years with Chevron Corporation in 1990 and enjoyed an active retirement in Horseshoe Bay, Texas.

Jim was active in the Kiwanis Club of Marble Falls, Llano County Republican Club, a trustee and former treasurer of The Church at Horseshoe Bay and was recently named a Legion of Honor by the Society of Petroleum Engineers for 50 continuous years of membership, as well as a registered professional engineer. He is a lifetime member of the Texas A&M University Former Students Association and participated in many local Hill Country Aggie events.

A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, August 7 at The Church at Horseshoe Bay with interment at 10 a.m. August 8 at Fairview Cemetery in Gainesville, Texas, under the direction of the Geo. J. Carroll & Son Funeral Home. For those who wish, memorials may be made in honor of James W. Mathis to The Church at Horseshoe Bay (www.church-hsb.org) or the American Diabetes Association (www.diabetes.org).