Arden Roy Grover

Arden Roy Grover passed away peacefully on October 18, 2012 at his home in Midland, Texas at the age of 86. He was born on March 28, 1926 to Florence and Irving Grover in Duluth, Minnesota and graduated from Duluth Central High where he was a highly ranked junior hockey player and played for a short time with the Northwest Oilers, a semi-pro team. He attended Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, where he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and received his Bachelor of Science in Law from the St. Paul College of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota where he was a member of Delta Theta Phi law fraternity. In 1951, he was called to active duty by the United States Marine Corps and served in the 3rd battalion 5th Marines in Korea. He received a Korean Service Medal with 3 stars, a Letter of Commendation with Combat V and a Purple Heart Medal for wounds suffered in combat. He was honorably discharged from the Corps and retired with the rank of Captain. Following his release from active duty and his planned return to Minnesota to resume civilian life, Mr. Grover stopped in Midland to visit a fellow Marine from his Unit, Malcolm MacCurdy, who was in Midland visiting relatives. Mr. Grover intended to stay two weeks and ended up staying a lifetime. Along with Malcolm MacCurdy and Gordon Knox, he formed GMK Oil Company, Inc., where he was President. The company found the GMK Field and the East Seminole Field in Gaines County, Texas. Following the dissolution of GMK Oil Company, Mr. Grover went on to be a principal in several oil and gas ventures in the United States and Canada, including Pomaikai Oil Company, Royalgas Canada, Ltd. and Midcal Canada, Ltd. In 1972, he merged Pomaikai Oil into Flag-Redfern Oil Company. He served as Vice-President of the Flag-Redfern from 1972 to 1978 when he left the company to found Grover Oil and later Grover-McKinney Oil Company with Gary McKinney. He remained on the Board of Directors of Flag-Redfern until the company was sold to Kerr-McGee Corporation in 1988. After retiring from Grover-McKinney, he formed Grover Family, L.P. in which he was active until shortly before his death. In 2004, he and his wife and children formed Bedford Investments, L.P. which participates in the drilling of oil and gas wells. Among other boards, Mr. Grover has served on the Board of Directors of Flag-Redfern Oil Company, Leamco Services, Mexco Energy Midland Southwest Corporation, Texas Commerce Bank of Midland, and United Bank of Midland. He also served on the Board of Directors of Glencoe Resources, Ltd. and Pennant-Puma Oils Ltd., both of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and as an advisory director of Caithness Resources, Inc., a geothermal energy company in New York. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Independent Petroleum Association of America, the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association, and the Permian Basin Petroleum Association, where he served as President and Chairman. He received the Permian Basin Petroleum Associtation's Top Hand Award in 2010. Mr. Grover was a past President and Lifetime Trustee of the Marine Military Academy in Harlingen, Texas. He has served on the boards of many non-profit organizations, including the Board of Trustees of Midland Memorial Hospital, the Board of Governors of Midland Memorial Foundation, the Board of Directors of the United Way, the Board of Visitors of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and the Board of Directors of the YMCA where he served as President. He has also served on the Board of Directors of the Midland Cancer Society, Midland Regional Airport, the Midland Housing Corp., Salvation Army and Trinity School. He was the founder of the Inquirer Book Club. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Midland, where he served as a deacon, and was an associate member of the Church at Horseshoe Bay in Horseshoe Bay, Texas. He is survived by his wife, Rosalind Redfern Grover; three sons, Arden Grover, Jr. and Jeffrey Grover of Dallas, Texas; David Grover of Midland, Texas and his three daughters, Riley, Colby and Landry; and one daughter, Rosson Grover, and her children, Arden Kapps Killingstad and Rosalind Killingstad, all of Dallas. He is also survived by his sister, Margaret Holper of North Oaks, Minnesota and his brother, Dr. John Grover and his wife, Joy, of Portland, Oregon as well as by numerous nieces and nephews. The family would like to give its most heartfelt thanks to Jo Ann Hernandez, Jessica Blakeney, Letty Allen, Norma Leal, Sandra Hernandez, Anna Parra, Anna Prieto, Fermina Prieto, Alejandra Ramos, Magdalena Ramos, and Connie Salinas, who took such wonderful and incredibly tender care of Mr. Grover during his illness. The family would also like to thank Hospice of Midland for its very thoughtful care on Mr. Grover final journey. A graveside service will be held at Resthaven Memorial Park commemorating Mr. Grover service to his country on October 23 at 3 p.m. with the Reverend Mary Beth Anton officiating. A memorial service will follow at 4 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, 800 West Texas with Reverend Steve Schorr officiating. Services are under the direction of Nalley-Pickle and Welch Funeral Home. Memorials may be directed to Midland Memorial Foundation, 2200 West Illinois Avenue, Midland, Texas 79701, or to the charity of one choice.,