An Autobiography of Walter Martz, Jr. 

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     Walter was born on June 19, 1927 in Independence, Missouri to Walter H. Martz from Mt. Solon, Virginia and Elizabeth (Dulaney) Martz from Hale, Missouri.  Walter has one sister, Lucille Mitchell, who lives here in Wichita, Ks.  His family moved to Hutchinson, Ks in 1935 so that his father, who was a weather-stripper, could take advantage of work brought about by the dust-bowl days.

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Walter and Joan

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     While “growing-up” in Hutchinson, Walter had several part-time jobs including three different paper routes, jobs in a powdered egg factory, a salt plant, the newspaper office, and helping his father when possible.  His family belonged to the Trinity Methodist Church (now Trinity United Methodist) where he was a member of Boy Scout Troop 13 and attained the rank of Eagle Scout.

     After graduating from Hutchinson High School in May, 1945, Walter joined the US Navy and was fortunate to have the war with Japan end while he was still in boot camp at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center.   After being sent to Camp Shoemaker in California for a brief period, he was assigned  to the Federal Office Building in San Francisco, where he worked in the teletype relay office.

     Walter was discharged as a Seaman 1/C from the Navy in August, 1946 and enrolled at the Hutchinson (KS) Junior College, which he attended for three semesters.  One of his extra-curricular activities was music. This was to result in an extremely important meeting in the Fall of 1947.   He had played the baritone horn since the 7th grade, and. in addition to the school bands, had played in the Hutchinson Municipal Band and the Great Lakes Naval Training Station Band.  While playing in the band during his second year at Juco, he met his future wife, Joan May, who was a freshman from Haven, Ks. and also happened to be a clarinet player in the band.  While not quite “love at first sight,” it was almost that and they were married a year later on September 10, 1948.

     Joan and Walter have raised four  children:  Steve, who is an Associate Technical Fellow for Boeing Military at Wichita, Ks;  Tim, who is Superintendent of Park and Recreation for the City of Wichita, Ks;  Jenny, who was a bassoon player and Sergeant First Class in the US Army-Europe Band at Heidelberg, Germany; and David, who is a software engineer for Hewlett-Packard in Boise, Idaho.  The family lost Jenny to breast cancer in March of 1999 after a three-year battle.   Steve created a memorial web page for her and, if someone is interested in her career, it can be viewed at: http://members.cox.net/smartz1/jenny/

     Walter and Joan have eight grandchildren of which four are boys and four are girls.  Three of the grandchildren are now married and reside in Merriam, Ks; Lincolnton, NC; and Oklahoma City, OK.

     Walter transferred to the Colorado School of Mines at Golden, Colorado in the summer of 1948 and graduated with a degree of Geological Engineer in May, 1951.  His first job was with Champlin Refining Company and came about as a result of a friend meeting Bob Gutru at an AAPG Meeting in Denver. Walter’s friend had known Bob while growing up in Nebraska.  Bob, who worked for Champlin at that time, was leaving to join Beardmore and told the friend, who in turn told Walter, of Champlin’s need for another geologist.  John Miller took Bob’s place as District Geologist for Champlin in Wichita.  John, with instructions from J. Lawrence Muir, Champlin’s VP of Exploration, really helped train Walter as a well-site geologist by having him go out with several consulting geologists before  getting to watch a well by himself.   Among those that helped Walter learn the ropes were:  Harold McNeil (Elbie’s older brother), Tom Roberts, Benton Brooks, Delbert Costa, Ray Goodin, Fred Lillibridge, and Harry Emerich.  At this time, Marvin Douglas was also employed by Champlin and worked out of the Enid, OK home office. Two influential people early in Walter’s 

(continued on page 21)

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