We are sorry to share that the following ARCO Alumni have passed away.
Robert Iden 1940 - May 29, 2023
Robert "Bob" Iden died May 29 at home in Anchorage, surrounded by family. He was 82.
Bob was born in Staffordshire, England. During the war, he rode the train to Wales with his siblings, Bridget and Nick, and his mother Joy, to wait out the German air raids on a farm. His father remained behind as part of the Royal Air Force barrage balloon brigade. After the war, the family settled in southeast England, New Forest district. As a boy, he attended Brockhurst, a boy's boarding school, where he ran track and played soccer. He went on to obtain his bachelor's degree at University of London, Imperial College, Royal School of Mines. He came to the United States on a graduate scholarship to study petroleum engineering at Penn State. After graduating, he took a job in Anchorage with Shell Oil Company and was then hired by ARCO Alaska in 1970, at the beginning of the oil boom.
Bob worked in oil development and exploration in Cook Inlet and then took on the responsibility for the reservoir engineering aspects of the development and management of the Prudhoe Bay project. He became a vice president at ARCO in 1991. He retired in 1995 at age 54.
Bob was an avid fisherman, floating and fishing the Kanektok and Goodnews Rivers in Western Alaska, dip-netting salmon on the Copper River, and fishing the Kenai for more than 40 seasons. He was an inherent naturalist who keenly observed plants, birds, and wildlife, photographing and cataloging all the beauty he saw. He could often be found hiking, biking, or birding.
Donations in his memory can be sent to The Selkregg Community Engagement and Service Learning Award, University of Alaska Anchorage, 3211 Providence Drive, Anchorage 99508. Checks may be made to UA Foundation, noting the Selkregg Award or people may donate online at: https://engage.alaska.edu/uaa/give-now.
Robert Stephen Molina - December 3, 1947 - April 2, 2023
Bill Keffer shared that Steve was his former boss in the Dallas Legal Department. "Steve was a big personality and an important person in my career," said Bill.
Delores (Dee) Hinkle - May 31, 1953 - March 14, 2023
During her 38-year oil industry career, Dee worked in various production and reservoir positions for Sun, ARCO and Marathon in Oklahoma, Alaska, Wyoming, and Texas. She retired in 2013 as Marathon Oil’s Director of Corporate Reserves.
Dee was active in the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) during her career and retirement. She was Chair of the SPE’s Oil and Gas Reserves Committee, participated in the development of SPE’s Petroleum Resource Management System, served as the Bureau Vice Chair of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe’s Ad Hoc Group of Experts, and was a Technical Editor for the Oil and Gas Journal. She received SPE’s Gulf Coast Section Reservoir Description and Dynamics Award and was awarded SPE’s Distinguished Member Award at the Amsterdam Convention.
Allan L. Comstock passed away March 1, 2023, at his lakeside home (Westlake Village, CA), after his long battle with cancer. At the end of his 79 fulfilling years, Allan was surrounded by the ones he loved. Allan's professional career began and ended with ARCO. In a career spanning over 30 years, Allan moved through the ranks of ARCO to become the Vice President and Controller.
John K. Deavenport passed away on July 17, 2022 after surviving 14 years with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. John worked for ARCO from 1976, enjoying his time in Anchorage and Prudhoe Bay, and transitioned to BP in Houston and retired in 2008. Read his obituary
