Donald Clutterbuck

Donald Booth Clutterbuck
1929-2020


Donald Booth Clutterbuck, 91, was born on March 3, 1929 in Beaumont, Texas to Donald James and Catherine Booth Clutterbuck. Don spent his formative years in Beaumont, Texas and Tulsa, Oklahoma. He graduated from Marquette High School in Tulsa in 1947, where he was class president for three years and was remembered for his ready smile and friendliness. In 1951, Don graduated from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Following several months as a roustabout in the oil fields of West Texas, he then reported to the Navy Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island.  Don served 3-1/2 years in the Navy aboard the Destroyer Escort USS LeRay Wilson, based out of San Diego. Early on in San Diego, Don met LaDonna Marie Bicknese, "a spirited and beautiful young lady from Minnesota" he once wrote, who had moved to California to teach elementary school. They soon engaged and married in July 1954 on the Naval Air Station in Coronado, California.

Following his discharge from the Navy, the couple moved to Austin, Texas, where Don earned a M.A. in Geology at the University of Texas. He then went to work for Shell Oil Company for 10 years, living with LaDonna in Midland, Del Rio, and Corpus Christi, Texas; and Santa Fe, New Mexico. He later enjoyed a long career working for several independent oil & gas companies, ultimately serving in Senior VP, President, and COO roles with Inexco, McCormick, Tipperary, OXOCO, RPI and AFG Energy. After moving to Houston in 1965, Don and LaDonna would live there (with a one-year sojourn in Denver, Colorado) for 55 years.

Don retired in 1999 and spent much of his free time volunteering at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Don was an enthusiastic docent, sharing his love of geology at his much-loved Weiss Energy Hall and in the Cullen Hall of Gems and Minerals, and educating himself and the public about special exhibits as diverse as the Titanic, the Vikings and the world's largest Russian Faberge Egg collection. His 15 years of volunteer service there won him many accolades and friends with whom he had engaging lunches.

Don was a longtime member of both the Houston Geological Society and the Petroleum Club, where he served on the Board for many years as well as a term as President. Don joined HGS in 1/1/58.

Don was preceded in death by his wife LaDonna, He is survived by his sons John Clutterbuck (wife Anne) and Jim Clutterbuck, and his beloved grandchildren, Caroline, William, Miles and Zoe. A private memorial service will be held later in Houston, Texas. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations be made to the Houston Museum of Natural Science.