july 2008 Issue
Obituary
Dr. Peter Gretener, P.Geol., P.Geoph.
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An APEGGA member described as honest, fair, kind — and sometimes contrary — passed away peacefully at home in Calgary on May 16. Dr. Peter Gretener, P.Geol., P.Geoph., lived life on his own terms, says an obituary published in Nickle’s Daily Oil Bulletin.
He was a few weeks away from turning 82.
Dr. Gretener was active in APEGGA, the Society of Exploration Geophysicists and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists throughout his oilpatch career. Born in Switzerland, he completed his PhD in geology and geophysics at the Technical University of Zurich. In 1953 he emigrated “to what, for a geologist, was truly a land of opportunity — the vast frontier of Canada,” says the obituary.
He completed post-doctorate studies at the University of Toronto and, in 1954, his soon-to-be wife Vreni came to Canada to join the love of her life. The two began a family and lived in various places, including Edmonton, Calgary and Houston, before putting down solid roots in Calgary.
For the first 12 years of his career, Dr. Gretener was in industry. This period included summers in Canada’s rugged North, which he “deeply loved,” the obituary says. Then he joined the ranks of academia at the University of Calgary.
Dr. Gretener took to teaching with enthusiasm and worked to pass on his passion for rocks to his students. “They should love me or hate me, just not be indifferent,” he said.
Sustainability and the environment were important issues for Dr. Gretener, long before they were in vogue. He held seminars on limiting growth and co-exisiting with nature.
Says the obituary: “He was a firm believer in teaching his students to take the big picture and work to develop a broad base of knowledge rather than become too narrowly focused on their area of specialty. He believed strongly that inter-disciplinary dialogue (geologists talking to engineers talking to environmentalists) was the key to advancing science in a rational manner.”
Money was never a driver. “At the end, he was fulfilled and, as he would have said, the time had come to shut her down. We will all miss him and will try to take with us his life example.”
In addition to his wife, Vreni, he is survived by three sons, a daughter-in-law and three grandchildren.