Harold Alva Lacik

Harold Alva Lacik
(1921 ? 2013)

Harold Alva Lacik, 92, passed away on the afternoon of November 29, 2013 surrounded by his family. He was born on February 15, 1921 in Mangum, OK to John and Maybelle Lacik. After his father?s passing when Harold was 5, he and his mother moved to Lubbock to be closer to family. Harold lived in Lubbock during these early years and graduated from Lubbock High School in 1937.

Harold began his education at Texas Tech University but returned to Oklahoma in 1940 to work for Shell Oil Company. He worked for Shell until 1942 when he volunteered to enlist in the Army Air Corp during WWII. Harold was a Navigator on the B-25 Mitchell Bomber until the war ended in 1945. He landed in the Philippines on his last flight and swore he would not fly again. Harold said he was there to fly when they needed him but after that, he did not want to fly again and he never did.

When the war ended in 1945, Harold returned to Shell Oil in Oklahoma to continue his education and career and graduated in 1948 from Oklahoma University with a degree in Petroleum Engineering. He immediately entered Shell?s training program for new engineers that sent him all over the country learning the various aspects of the Oil and Gas Industry. It was during this training in the Fall of 1949 in Casper, Wyoming that Harold was set up on a blind date that would change his life forever.

In July 1949, Harold met the Canadian-born Irene Fleming who happened to be visiting a friend of Harold?s in Wyoming. It was love at first sight and Harold asked Irene to marry him the very next day. After Irene was able to return home and inform her family of her newfound love, they were married on October 29, 1949 in Medicine Hat, Alberta on the steps of a local church. Harold and Irene spent their newlywed years in oil and gas locations across the Rocky Mountain Region. They returned to Texas in 1952 with their one-year-old son, John Irvine, so Harold could start a job with Warren Petroleum in Abilene, TX. In 1955, Harold and Irene moved to Snyder with John and added Barbara Ann soon after they arrived.

In 1959 Harold started a new phase of his career managing the Sharon Ridge Unit for RE ?Bob? Smith out of Houston. Snyder was a perfect fit for Harold and Irene as they raised John and Barbara through both their graduations from Snyder High School. Harold was a true pillar of the community and served on the School Board, Hospital Board, was Chairman of the Tax Appraisal Review Board, and was active in the Presbyterian Church. Harold continued to run the Sharon Ridge Unit until his retirement in 1989 from RE Smith.

While Harold retired on paper, he was far from retired in his activities and board seats. He was always an active golfer and you could often find him playing a round at Snyder Country Club. This love of golf was also contagious to John and his grandchildren. He and Irene were also avid travelers and never found a place too far to visit?as long as they could drive there. The Lacik?s went back to Canada most every year and have driven to almost every state in the country seeing friends, exploring new sites, and serving the Presbyterian Church.

Harold was successful in most every way success could be judged but no measure was as important to him as his family. Losing his father at age 5 had a profound effect on Harold and this drove him to be a loving father to John and Barbara and doting grandfather to Kelli, Kevin, Stafford, Alan, and Kaylee. He was always there for them and never missed an opportunity to spend time with them. Harold is preceded in death by his father, John Lacik, his mother, Maybelle Smith, and his grandson, Kevin Lacik. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Irene Fleming Lacik of Snyder, his son John Lacik of Ft. Worth, daughter-in-law Cindy Lacik of Snyder, daughter Barbara Gray and son-in-law Gordon of Snyder, granddaughter Kelli Griffin and her husband