NORMAN — Dr. Charles J. “Charlie” Mankin, 80, passed away Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2012, in Norman. He was born Jan. 15, 1932, in Dallas to Green and Myla Mankin.
Memorial services will be 3 p.m. Monday at the First Christian Church, 220 S. Webster Ave. in Norman under the direction of Havenbrook Funeral Home.
He was united in marriage on Oct. 12, 2007, in Maui to Betty Bellis.
Charlie was raised in west Texas and graduated from high school in 1949 from Ozona, Texas. Charlie received three degrees in geology from the University of Texas and had a post-doctoral position at Cal Tech. Mankin came to the University of Oklahoma in 1959 as an assistant professor and was commissioned by OU’s longest-serving president, George Lynn Cross, to serve as director of the School of Geology and Geophysics in 1963. In 1967, Mankin became director of the Oklahoma Geological Survey, maintaining this role until his retirement in 2007. He is believed to be the longest-serving director of any state geological survey in the country.
Upon his induction into the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma Higher Education Heritage Society called Mankin an “enrichment to the state and nation.” In addition to his leadership in Oklahoma, Mankin also served as president or vice president of national organizations, including the Association of American State Geologists, the American Geological Institute, the Mid Continent Section of the Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists, and the American Institute of Professional Geologists. Charles was honored at the AASG annual meeting in June for playing a key roll in pushing through the National Geologic Mapping act.
He was preceded in death by his parents and his first wife, Mildred Helen (Hahn) Mankin.
Charlie is survived by his wife, Betty Bellis Mankin of Norman; daughters Sally Geyer of Atlanta, Helen Volak of Tulsa and her children Daniel and Katie, and Laura Veal and husband Larry and their children Ashley Atherton and husband Aaron and their son Collin, and Jeff Veal, all of Noble; Betty’s children, Doug Bellis and wife Tina of Norman and their daughters Jenna and Carmen, and Karen Powers and husband Mark of Cedar Park, Texas; and sister, Carolyn Thompson and husband Sam of Austin, Texas.
Visitation will be from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and from 1 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Havenbrook Funeral Home. The family will greet friends from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Online condolences may be shared at www.havenbrookfuneralhome.com.
Norman Transcript, Friday, Nov. 16, 2012
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