Raymond A. Malott
1917 - 2015 | Obituary |
Raymond A. Malott PALA- Ray Malott, age 98, died peacefully at his home in Pala on August 3, 2015 due to age related causes. He is survived by three children: Ingrid Shattuck (James) of Montecito, Andrea Malott of Seattle, and Rex Malott (Celeste) of Topanga. He is also survived by five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. His wife of 67 years, Marion, predeceased him in 2007. Ray was born in 1917 in Bakersfield and grew up in a La Mirada oil camp. He graduated from Stanford University in 1938 with a Petroleum Engineering degree. Ray was one of the world's best runners. He was coached by the great Dink Templeton at Stanford and helped by his lifelong friend and college roommate, Hilmer Lodge. He won many AAU, NCAA and international championships. In 1938, he was the captain of the AAU team that toured Europe where he won 61 of 64 races including a legendary race in a packed Berlin Stadium against the German champion, Rudolf Harbig. After college, Ray worked for 43 years for Shell Oil Company. He began as a roughneck in West Texas, became a driller and then ran a toluene plant during World War II making the principal ingredient in TNT. After the war, he advanced through a variety of roles at Shell and was involved in many significant projects, including the development of underground nuclear test wells and the first commercially successful offshore discovery developed from a drilling vessel. Ray obtained several patents for directional drilling techniques and he eventually became chief of drilling operations before retiring from Shell in 1982. After retirement, Ray and Marion moved from Houston back to California and raised avocados and citrus in Pauma Valley and Rainbow. One of Marion's favorite stories was that Ray married her for her money, as when they married in 1940, she had just enough money to pay for a train ticket from Santa Ana to Lovington, New Mexico and Ray had just enough to drive there from West Texas. They paid $12.00 for the ceremony and began married life in a canvas-curtained boarding house in Denver City, Texas. He lived a great and long life filled with many adventures. He will be missed by his family and his many friends.
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