Bennie Walthall

Bennie Walthall, age 85, died peacefully on January 10th., 2011. Bennie was born to Clayton and Blanche Walthall in Sayre, Arkansas on March 12, 1925. During WWII he served in the United States Army. Receiving a Bachelor's degree in geology from Tulsa University in 1948 he began his career as a geologist in East Africa. While working in Somalia he met Marisa, of French-Italian descent, they were married in Nairobi, Kenya in 1955 and began their lives together living in and traveling to many countries. While working, he earned a Master's Degree in 1962 from the University of Tulsa. He earned his Doctorate Degree in geology in 1966 from Columbia University, NYC. As a geologist he worked for Aramco in Saudi Arabia and in England for 23 years. While in Saudi Arabia, he directed the first Saudi Ph.D program at King Abulaziz University. The eternal student, since retirement, Bennie earned a Bachelor's Degree in accounting from the University of Texas, Brownville and a Bachelor's Degree in history from Texas A&M Texarkana. He was working towards another degree when he became too ill to continue his studies. Education was paramount to Bennie, his own and that of others. He donated significant time and money to help many students along their educational paths. In 2010 Bennie was honored to receive the Spirit Award from Texas A&M Texarkana. The university recently named it's annual awards for best history papers written by A&M Texarkana, the Walthall Award. Bennies passion for travel took him and Marisa to more than 150 countries and islands. His passion for travel was instilled in their daughter at an early age and she is grateful for the life experiences he encouraged for her. Survived by his loving wife, Marisa and daughter, Dany, he will be greatly missed by family and friends. A private family graveside service will be held at the Bluff City Cemetery, under the direction of Texarkana Funeral Home, Arkansas. Memorial donations may be made to St. Jude's Children Research Hospital: 1-800 822 6344 Online registration is at www.texarkanafuneralhome.com.