In Memoriam: Charles W. Cookson, founder of the American Oil & Gas Reporter, who died July 17, 2015, in Wichita, Kansas.
A true leader in petroleum industry journalism, “Cookie” Cookson, founder and publisher emeritus of The American Oil & Gas Reporter, died July 17, 2015, in Wichita, Kansas. He was 92.
Together with his wife Joyce, he founded the award-winning industry trade magazine in 1958. He was inducted into the Butler County History Center and Kansas Oil Museum’s Legacy Gallery in 2010. Deepest condolences to the Charles W. Cookson family from all of us who had the privilege of reporting on the oil patch for him.
Among those who have served on the editorial staff at The American Oil & Gas Reporter with founder Charles W. “Cookie” Cookson (center) are, from left, Bruce Wells, Alex Mills, Bill Campbell and A.D. Koen. Cookson is holding the artist’s proof of a limited edition print, “Donkey in a Kansas Field,” by California artist JoAnn Cowans. It was presented to him by the American Oil & Gas Historical Society, which honored Cookson with its first Oil History Journalism Award in April 2006.
Wells founded AOGHS in 2003 and continues to serve as its executive director. Mills is president of the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers; Campbell remains with The American Oil & Gas Reporter as managing editor; and Koen is an independent energy writer and communications consultant in Houston. Photo courtesy of The American Oil & Gas Reporter.
