Zach A. Brinkerhoff, Jr.

Zachary Kiskadden Brinkerhoff, Jr. ""Zach,"" age 97, died on May 22, 2011, at his home in Denver, CO. Zach was born September 5, 1913, at his home, Last Chance Plantation, Louisiana, to Zach and Laura Brinkerhoff. He was the eldest of five siblings: Robert W. ""Bobby"", Mary Jane, Elizabeth, and Milford Hall ""Sonny"". He married Jeanne Painter in the home of family friends in Louisiana, December 11, 1937. Zach attended University of Texas, in Austin, 1931-1935, then headed to the oilfields as a roughneck. By 1940 he and his father launched the Brinkerhoff Drilling Company in southern Illinois. When there appeared to be an oil boom in Wyoming, Zach moved a rig to Rock Springs in 1943. Later in the 1940's he became Wyoming's largest independent oil producer. By the time he moved his company to Denver in 1954, he had operations and companies in western Canada. In the early 1960's he was drilling in Alaska, and offering aviation charter services; he was well known for rig number 36--the longest operating rig on the North Slope of Alaska. By the 1970's he had maritime drilling barges in the Philippines and the South China Sea. Zach was a president of the American Petroleum Institute and on the board of the International Association of Drilling Contractors. He was past-president of the Bear River Duck Club in Brigham City, Utah, as well as a founder of Castle Pines Golf Club. He was a prominent member of the Classic Car Club of America. Zach was a gentleman. His passions were hunting, classic car collecting and golfing. He was well-known for his unusual sense of humor and his youthful stride. He will long be remembered for his unwavering generosity. He is survived by six children: Zachary III and Rachel Brinkerhoff, Ann Brinkerhoff, Carol Brinkerhoff, Susan Mammel, Joris and Regina Brinkerhoff and Tom Brinkerhoff; fifteen grandchildren, thirteen great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife Jeanne, his grandsons John Beatty and Clayton Mammel, his son-in-law Gary Mammel, his sister Elizabeth Holden and his brother Robert Brinkerhoff. Services will be held at Trinity United Methodist Church, 1820 Broadway, Denver, CO at 2:00 pm Tuesday, May 24th. Interment will be at Bethel Cemetery, McCutcheonville, Ohio. In lieu of flowers donations may be sent to one of the following: Trinity United Methodist Church Sanctuary Preservation Fund, 1820 Broadway, Denver, CO 80202, Denver Museum of Nature and Science Earth Science Initiative, 2001 Colorado Boulevard, Denver, CO 80205, Eisenhower Evans Scholarship Foundation, Western Golf Association, 1 Briar Road, Golf, Illinois 60029.