Jarl Percy Johnson

Jarl P. Johnson, age 89, passed away on Friday, December 13, 2019, at Inverness Village in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Jarl (March 27, 1930) and his identical twin Earl (March 26, 1930) were born to Robert and Sarah Johnson in their home at 2627 West Easton, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Jarl grew up in the Tulsa area, graduated from Central High School in 1948, and The University of Tulsa as a petroleum engineer in 1953. He worked in the oil and gas industry for over 47 years. He was Engineering Manager at Kewanee Oil Co.; Vice President of Engineering for Hamilton Brothers Oil Co. in Denver; a founder of Ensource, Inc.; Owner of PetroJarl Inc.; an owner and President of Diamond Energy in Tulsa. Diamond grew from a company with almost no production to the fourth-largest crude oil producer in Oklahoma in five years. Diamond sold to Coda Energy in Dallas where Jarl moved and became Vice-Chairman and Chief Operating Officer. He authored several technical papers on oil and gas secondary recovery.

Jarl and his wife, Naydene, have been members of Tulsa University’s President’s Council, Circle Society, and the Golden Hurricane Club for many years. In 1998 they funded an endowed scholarship for petroleum engineering students at TU. Jarl served on the Petroleum Industry Advisory Boards at Texas Tech and Tulsa University. He was a past Chairman of the Mid-Continent Section of Petroleum Engineers. Jarl was inducted into the College of Engineering and Natural Sciences Hall of Fame at Tulsa University in 2005.

Jarl valued and learned from his humble beginnings. He saw the potential in all things, whether it was a child who struggled in school or at home, a business opportunity, an engineering challenge, or a reclaimed piece of wood. Jarl served on several church and community boards, was a Presbyterian Elder, taught English as a second language, volunteered to rebuild homes in Mississippi after Katrina, and mentored young people about business and life. As a member of the Rotary Club of Dallas, he began a city-wide mentoring program for young teens, and he continued mentoring students at Central High School and Celia Clinton Middle School when he relocated to Tulsa. Jarl loved life and family. He enjoyed snow skiing, playing football with his grandchildren in his seventies, completing a ropes course with zipline in his eighties, and was on the dance floor at 10,000 ft with Naydene this past summer at his grandson’s mountaintop wedding in his beloved Vail, Colorado.

Jarl is survived by his loving wife of 43 years, Naydene, whom he met in junior high school in Tulsa. His surviving children are Marilyn Dunham Wark (David), Gary Johnson (Cindy), Kelley Vogt (Steve), and Karen Castle. His legacy continues through his ten grandchildren and their spouses Joshua Dunham (Jennie), Jamie Dunham McMahon (Eric), Tade Johnson (Mary Grace), Garrett Johnson (Hillary), Eric Vogt (Leesha), Carlee Vogt Boccacci (Jay), Greg Castle (Beth), Jeanette Castle O’Hara (Brad), Doug Castle (Danae), Katharine Wark Griffith (John) and 20 great-grandchildren. His heart was generous, and he mentored many young people through the years, often considering them family; in particular, Anna Holm and Lafayette Woodfork.

Jarl was predeceased by his parents, Robert M. and Sarah R. Johnson, his siblings Earl L. Johnson, Shirley Champlain, Norma Brock, Bobby Jean Johnson, and Richard Johnson, and his first wife Kathryn Pfister Johnson.

A celebration of Jarl’s life will be held on Friday, December 20, 2019, at 2:30 pm at the First Presbyterian Church in Tulsa. Instead of flowers, the family asks that individuals consider donating to the Rotary Club of Tulsa Foundation “Jarl Johnson Water Well,” the Jarl & Naydene Johnson Scholarship for Petroleum Engineering Students at Tulsa University, or the First Presbyterian Church Tulsa Foundation.