William K. Warren (1897–1990) founded the Warren Petroleum Corporation of Delaware in 1922. He and his company (headquartered in Tulsa) soon became specialists in the production and marketing of

liquefied petroleum gas Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG or LP gas) is a fuel gas which contains a flammable mixture of hydrocarbon gases, specifically propane, propylene, butylene, isobutane and n-butane. LPG is used as a fuel gas in heating appliances, cooking e ...

, a byproduct of petroleum refining and natural gas purification. Warren sold his company to

Gulf Oil Corporation Gulf Oil was a major global oil company in operation from 1901 to 1985. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies. Prior to its merger ...

in 1953 for $450 million, the largest such merger in the energy industry up to that time. Warren then turned his attention to philanthropy and established the Saint Francis Hospital system in Tulsa.

Early life

William Kelly Warren (1897–1990) was born in Nashville Tennessee to Thomas Hines and Amelia Elizabeth Cecil Warren on December 3, 1897. Little has been published about his childhood and adolescence. One source says that he dropped out of school after eighth grade because of his father's death.Spears, Claire. ''This Land'', "The Tulsa Irish." Vol. 3, Issue 20. October 15, 2012. Retrieved March 12, 201

/ref> A brief biography, published in 1987, when the Tulsa Historical Society inducted him into its hall of fame, indicates only that he struggled with poverty during those years, and that he had jobs as "... a newspaper carrier, a Western Union messenger, a peanut vendor in a baseball park, a drug store employee, a door-to-door salesman and even a dance hall instructor."Tulsa Historical Society." William Kelly Warren." Retrieved March 11, 201

/ref> While living in Nashville, where he attended parochial schools. Apparently he decided to leave Nashville in 1915, and went to work as a railroad clerk, earning 40 dollars a month. According to the ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', he befriended Myrtle (Mrs. Daniel A.) McDougal of Sapulpa, Oklahoma, who advised him to go west to seek his fortune. Warren caught a train to Sapulpa in February 1916, where he went to work briefly on a rail line serving the oil boom towns of Depew and Shamrock. That job only lasted five days, when he quit and began learning everything he could about the oil business by working a variety of jobs. he worked for Gypsy Oil Company, Gilliland Oil Company, Gulf Oil Corporation, Margay Oil Corporation, and McMan Oil and Gas Company in Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana. Clyda Reeves Franks, "Warren Petroleum Corporation." ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''.
Retrieved March 10, 2013. Warren worked for a few years as assistant to

Patrick J. Hurley Patrick Jay Hurley (January 8, 1883July 30, 1963) was an American politician and diplomat. He was the United States Secretary of War from 1929 to 1933, but is best remembered for being Ambassador to China in 1945, during which he was instrumenta ...

, who was then vice president of Gilliland Oil Company.

Warren Petroleum Corporation

Warren resigned in 1922 to found his own oil company, Warren Petroleum Company of Delaware. He made his headquarters in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with himself and his wife as the only people on the payroll. His firm concentrated on producing and marketing

(LPG), a byproduct of

natural gas processing Natural-gas processing is a range of industrial processes designed to purify raw natural gas by removing impurities, contaminants and higher molecular mass hydrocarbons to produce what is known as ''pipeline quality'' dry natural gas. Natural gas ...

. Warren organized the Western Gasoline Company, which he reorganized as the Warren Petroleum Company of Oklahoma in 1932, and then into Warren Petroleum Corporation in 1937. In 1930, he bought the domestic gasoline production facilities of

Amerada Hess Corporation Hess Corporation (formerly Amerada Hess Corporation) is an American global independent energy company involved in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas. It was formed by the merger of Hess Oil and Chemical and Amerada Petrol ...

.''Oil and Gas Journal''.
Petroleum Pioneer W. K. Warren Dead at 92
" June 18, 1990. Retrieved March 11, 2013. Warren Petroleum, along with Monterey Oil Company and J. R. Butler founded the Transwestern Pipeline Company on March 11, 1957. On November 10, 1953,

bought Warren Petroleum Corporation for $420 million. The deal was called the largest exchange of money in the industry until then. In 1966, Warren served as president of the

International Petroleum Exposition The International Petroleum Exposition (IPE) was a specialized trade fair held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at varying intervals from 1923 to 1979. Its main purposes were to display the latest oil industry technology, sell equipment and services, and to ed ...

Later life and philanthropy

During a fund drive by the Catholic Diocese of Tulsa, Warren agreed to donate $15,000 for St. Johns Hospital. He stipulated that no announcement of the gift would be made and that all notices should be sent to his office. He said that his wife was just as good a Methodist as he was a Catholic, and that they had agreed that whatever he gave to his church, she could make an equal donation to hers. However, an acknowledgement of the gift was sent to his home instead.Tulsa County Medical Society. "St. John Medical Center."
/ref> After selling his company to Gulf, Warren devoted much of his time, energy and money to philanthropic activities. In 1945 he created the William K. Warren Foundation. The Foundation gives financial support to non-profit organizations for charitable, scientific and health programs. Recipient organizations are primarily Catholic and located in and around Tulsa.The William K. Warren Foundation
/ref> The Foundation established the Saint Francis Hospital in Tulsa in 1959 and Laureate Psychiatric Hospital and Clinic in 1989. The hospital opened in 1960, and was operated by the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood from 1960 to 1969, and presently by the

Religious Sisters of Mercy The Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma, Michigan is a religious institute of pontifical right dedicated to the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. It was established in 1973 in response to the renewal called for in the Second Vatican Council. ...

of Alma, Michigan. It opened the Laureate Psychiatric Clinic and Hospital in 1989. The Foundation also financed the first Warren Clinic facility in 1988 as part of the Saint Francis Health System with the goal of expanding the base of available primary care physicians. Since then it has steadily grown to more than 70 locations and over 350 physicians who provide high quality health care to patients in northeastern Oklahoma. In 2007, the Foundation funded the expansion of the Saint Francis Health System to include two new facilities: Saint Francis Hospital South, a 96-bed hospital to accommodate the growing population in the southern part of Tulsa; and the Laureate Institute for Brain Research, a clinical neuroscience research institute dedicated to expanding the knowledge about the underlying pathogenetic features of mental disorders. Warren also donated generously to the University of Notre Dame. According to the Notre Dame website, Saint Liam Hall (referring to Saint William of York) was named in honor of W. K. Warren Sr. and the William K. and Natalie O. Warren golf course at Notre Dame is named after Mr. and Mrs. W. K. Warren Sr.

Legacy

William Warren Sr. was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1961, two years after his wife was inducted in 1959.

Marriage and family

While living in Nashville, Warren had met Natalie Overall, the daughter of a Methodist preacher. The couple carried on a long distance romance while he was moving around in oil company. They finally married on September 21, 1921. Natalie Warren died in Saint Francis Hospital in Tulsa at the age of 97 on September 4, 1996.''NewsOK''.
Warren Heiress Dies in Hospital
" September 5, 1996. Retrieved March 6, 2013. Together, they had six daughters and one son: Dorothy, Natalie, Marilyn, Patricia, Elizabeth (Libby), Jean and William. Their son, William K. Warren Jr., also a successful businessman and philanthropist who chaired the family foundation for years after his father's retirement, lives in Tulsa.

Notes

References

External links

Voices of Oklahoma interview with William Warren Jr.
– First person interview conducted on December 11, 2009, with William Warren Jr. – original audio and transcript archived wit
Voices of Oklahoma oral history project.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warren, William K. Sr. 1897 births 1990 deaths Businesspeople from Tulsa, Oklahoma Businesspeople from Nashville, Tennessee American businesspeople in the oil industry Philanthropists from Oklahoma Catholics from Tennessee 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century American businesspeople