William Manning

William ( Bill) Patrick Manning, the son of Francis Fyles and Eileen Robinson Manning, was born in Barbados on September 16, 1933. From 1942 to 1951 he attended a British grammar school and earned Oxford and Cambridge Lower and Higher School certificates in 1949 and 1951 respectively. Not only was he an outstanding student, he also won the school swimming championships twice. Bill founded the first school water polo team and led the team to the league championship. From ages 16 to 18, he represented Barbados in water polo and was a superb forward who shot numerous goals for four champion teams. In 1952 he entered McGill University, in Montreal, Canada and was the first Barbadian to receive a B. Eng. in chemical engineering in only 3 years. Bill stayed at McGill for his Ph.D. in chemical engineering which he also completed in only 3 years. At McGill, he earned letters in water polo. Bill and his wife, Joan, immigrated to the USA in 1958 and he worked for Merck & Co. in NJ. and for US Steel in Pittsburgh, PA before coming to Tulsa in 1963. After jobs in aerospace and magnesium production and two years as a stock broker, he settled down to the petroleum industry, first at the then CE-Natco for 9 years followed by over 19 years at Coastal Chemical Co as a sales and trouble-shooting engineer in natural gas processing. Bill became a recognized expert in natural gas sweetening and dehydration and in heat transfer salts. He was a licensed professional engineer for over 50 years, and his paper with Hal Wood on glycol dehy units remains an industry standard. Bill delivered numerous industrial short courses on natural gas conditioning. He also wrote the key chapters on gas sweetening and dehydration for his twin brother Frank's book "Oilfield Processing of Petroleum: Natural Gas". At the University of Tulsa, Bill was an adjunct professor of chemical engineering, a guest lecturer, and head proctor for the fundamentals of engineering examination for over 10 years. His professional reputation was so good that Coastal Chemical retained him as a consultant until he passed away on April 2, 2013. Bill is survived by his loving wife, Donna, daughter Frances Patricia and her husband James Krack; son, William John, and his wife Nickay; daughter, Mary Eileen, and her husband, Peter McKenzie; and grandchildren, James and Shannon Krack, Scott Manning, and Kendall, Patricia, and Courtney McKenzie; and twin brother, Frank and his wife Ardis.

Visitation Details

Friday, April 5th, 2013 8:00am - 9:00pm, Benjamin Funeral Home

Saturday, April 6th, 2013 8:00am - 12:00pm, Benjamin Funeral Home

Service Details

Saturday, April 6th, 2013 2:00pm, Benjamin Funeral Home

Interment Details

Nowata Memorial Park Cemetery