Texas oilman Charles E. Kimmell poses with friend and OU development officer Jill Hughes during a visit to his San Antonio home.

A decorated World War II hero and successful Texas oilman has established a new chair in the University of Oklahoma College of Engineering.

Shortly before his death in July at age 85, Charles E. Kimmell of San Antonio gave $500,000 to endow the Kimmell-Bernard Chair in Engineering. The chair carries his name, along with that of his beloved uncle, Lawrence Claude Bernard, who graduated from OU in 1917 with a degree in civil engineering.

Kimmell, who was an independent oil producer in south Texas for 40 years, graduated from OU in 1950 with a degree in geological engineering. He was a native of Cherokee, Oklahoma, and served as a U.S. Army artilleryman in World War II. In 1944, 2nd Lieutenant Kimmell was captured in Belgium during Germany’s Ardennes Offensive.

He was marched more than 160 miles into Germany and was moved frequently until he escaped following Gen. George Patton’s attack on the Oflag XIII-B camp. Kimmell was recaptured and remained in captivity for five months until Stalag VII near Munich was liberated in 1945. By that time, he weighed only 97 pounds. Six years later, he also would serve in the Korean War.

Kimmell’s service was recognized with eight Battle Stars, the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the Belgium Croix de Guerre and the POW Medal.

“My father never lost his Oklahoma roots, and he was most grateful for the G.I. Bill after World War II, which gave him the opportunity to attend the University of Oklahoma,” said Kimmell’s daughter, Elizabeth Turner of San Antonio. “Up to his death, he never missed the chance to brag about OU.”

As a 52-year resident of south Texas, Sooner Pride fast became Kimmell’s distinction among his peers, Turner added. She said her father would seal business deals with a handshake and a promised “Oklahoma guarantee.”

Turner described her father as “a lifelong student” who remained active in his profession literally until the day he died. “Why should I retire as long as I’ve got it between my ears?” he commented in a 2006 interview.