Remembering Bob Biolchini

Robert F. "Bob" Biolchini, long-time Tulsa attorney, president and chief executive officer of PennWell Corp., and owner of several banks in northeastern Oklahoma and Wyoming, died Nov. 8 in Jackson Hole, Wyo. He was 78.

Bob was born in Detroit on Sept. 22, 1939. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1962 and remained a fervent and generous supporter of the university throughout his life. After earning his law degree from George Washington University in 1965, Bob and his wife, Fran, spent 2 years in Germany where Bob was a US Army captain and executive officer of an armored battalion.

Bob was actively involved in the business of PennWell for nearly 5 decades. In 1970, the late P.C. Lauinger, Bob's father-in-law, asked him to join PennWell's executive committee and board of directors as well as serve as the company's general counsel. In the years that followed, Bob was the driving force behind PennWell's growth through acquisitions and international development. The expansion of PennWell and its transformation from a print-centric magazine business into a trade show and digital media powerhouse accelerated during Bob's tenure as president and chief executive officer during 2000-15. Since his retirement in September 2015, Bob remained active as PennWell's board chairman.

Despite his affinity for expanding PennWell's international footprint, Bob also was intent on nurturing PennWell's roots, which began with the Oil & Gas Journal and the founding of the company in 1910. Today PennWell is a highly diversified business-to-business events, media, and marketing services company covering industries including oil and gas, electric power, renewable energy, water and wastewater, optoelectronics, cabling, LEDs and lighting, aerospace, fire and emergency services, and dental.

Devoted to family, faith, and the University of Notre Dame, Bob and Fran endowed a law school professorship in 1995 and in 2008 underwrote the renovation of the law school building, which was renamed Biolchini Hall of Law. They dedicated the renovated Biolchini Hall of Law "to their six children and to all those who study here, seeking God's Justice through Faith and the Rule of Law."

Since 2001 Bob served on the University of Notre Dame Board of Trustees and before that he was a member of the University's Law School Advisory Council for 19 years. He also served as a Knight of The Sovereign Military Order of Malta and of the Holy Sepulchre and as chair of the Diocese of Tulsa's Fund for the Future.

Following the tragic terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, DC, on Sept. 11, 2001, Bob initiated the creation of the Fire Engineering Courage and Valor Foundation to exist in perpetuity and annually honor the 342 firefighters who lost their lives that day. Each year since 2002, the foundation has presented the Ray Downey Courage and Valor medal and a cash award to the firefighter, living or posthumously, selected by an independent panel for having exhibited exemplary bravery in a rescue situation.

Bob's business and civic interests were many and varied. Risk-taking was integral to his personality, and he actively invested in exploration and drilling, primarily wells in Oklahoma. In addition to serving as chairman of Valley National Bank and Ameritrust in Oklahoma and chairman of the board of the Bank of Jackson Hole in Wyoming, he was a member of Lloyds of London and the director of Old Faithful Underwriting Ltd. He served on numerous boards of both private and public corporations in oil and gas and other industries.

Bob was a man of extraordinary energy and formidable intellectual capacity. He relished life and was a figure larger than life. His friends, business associates, and employees around the globe mourn his passing and will remember his profound influence on their lives and careers.