John B. Etnyre

John Boyd Etnyre died on December 5, 2011 at University Hospital in San Antonio with his family by his side. He succumbed to a head injury sustained in a minor fall. A graveside service with military honors will be held at Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio on Friday, December 16, at 9:30 AM. Mr. Etnyre was born on June 27, 1925, in Oak Park, Illinois, to Boyd Evan Etnyre and Mary Martha Etnyre, nee Hays, and grew up on a farm in Preble Co., Ohio. In 1943 he enlisted in the Army and served in the European Theater of Operations as a Light Mortar Crewman with the 379th Infantry Regiment, 95th Infantry Division where he participated in the Northern France and the Rhineland campaigns. In February of 1945, PFC Etnyre was seriously wounded by artillery fragments in Holland. He was discharged in April of 1946. Mr. Etnyre is a recipient of the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star. After his army service, Mr. Etnyre attended Tulsa University in Oklahoma where he obtained a degree in geophysics. He graduated first in his class in the College of Engineering and was named King Pat, after the patron saint of engineers, at the Engineers Ball. While still in college, Mr. Etnyre began working for Sinclair Oil Corporation. He stayed with the same company and its subsidiaries throughout his 35 year career, though the company changed names with its acquisition by the Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO). On August 2, 1958, Mr. Etnyre married Ann Gardner Bivens in Camden, Arkansas. For the next 14 years Mr. Etnyres positions with Sinclairs foreign exploration subsidiaries took them to Algeria, France, Somalia, and Canada before returning to reside in the US in1972. While with Sinclair Mediterranean Petroleum Company (SINCMED) Mr. Etnyre managed the team that discovered the vast Rhourde el Baguel oil fields in Algeria. Mr. Etnyre was an avid reader and an enthusiastic photographer. During his retirement he pursued these interests as well as his passion for history and genealogy. Mr. Etnyre is survived by his wife, Ann; their children, Elisabeth and husband Jack Morris, Jennifer, and John Jr. and wife Lori Lejeune; and their grandson, Jacob Morris. He was 86 years old. He will be greatly missed.

Cemetery:
Graveside: Friday, December 16, 2011 at 9:30 A.M. Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery