June 2006 ISSUE
obituary
Theodore Rozsa, OC, P.Geol.
A benefactor for the arts, an award-winning geologist and a pioneer in the post-war oil industry, Theodore Rozsa, P.Geol., passed away at home in Calgary on March 2 at the age of 90. Mr. Rozsa, born in Grand Rapids, Mich., was the son of a Hungarian immigrant, who instilled in him a lifelong commitment to the value of hard work.
Mr. Rozsa spent 13 years managing seismic exploration for Shell Oil. A year after coming to Calgary as Shell’s chief geophysicist for Canada, Mr. Rozsa started his own company, Frontier Geophysical, in 1950.
Over the next 40 years he built three petroleum explor-ation companies in Southern Alberta, which earned him the first Canadian Society of Exploration Geophysicists gold medal. Mr. Rozsa shared his financial success with the commun-ity. His contribution launched the Rozsa Centre at the University of Calgary and the Rozsa Centre for Performing Arts at Michigan Technological University, where he also established a student scholarship fund.
He gave capital support to the Banff Centre, and made a large endowment to the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra for the Maestro’s Chair. Mr. Rozsa also donated operational funding to the orchestra, the Calgary Opera and the Honens International Piano Competition, and supported the Glenbow Museum, Theatre Calgary, Foothills Hospital and many others.
Mr. Rozsa’s good works will carry on through the Rozsa Foundation and the Rozsa Award for Excellence in Arts Management.
Two universities gave him honorary doctorates in 1990 — in engineering from the Michigan Technological University and in law from the University of Calgary. A year later he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Other honours include the Michigan Technological University Silver Medal, the Canadian Music Council Award, the Government of Canada Lescarbot Award, the Rotary Integrity Award, the Edmund C. Bovey Award for Business and the Arts, the Lieutenant Governor Award and the Alberta Centennial Medal.
Mr. Rozsa loved to golf. He was one of the founders of the Doodlebug Golf Tournament in 1953, and he competed in it for 38 consecutive years. The tournament remembers him through the annual Ted Rozsa Doodlebug Award. He was also an active member of the Calgary Golf and Country Club for over 50 years.
Among survivors are his wife of 65 years, Lola Rozsa, two daughters, a son, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.