Radcliffe Killam

Duane's take

Here's my telling of the official marker for Radcliffe Killam, right out of Webb County, Texas. Now settle in, because this one covers a lot of ground, the way a good Texas life tends to do. It starts in Missouri, takes a hard left through Oklahoma, and lands right here on the banks of the Rio Grande.

Oliver Winfield Killam, who went by O.W., and his wife Harriet Smith Killam were both born and educated in Missouri. In 1920, they packed up and moved to Laredo, and traveling with them was their son Radcliffe, born on July 1, 1910, in Grove, Oklahoma. O.W. hadn't come to South Texas on a whim.

He came to prospect for hydrocarbons on mineral leases he'd acquired while serving as an Oklahoma state senator. The man had a nose for what was underground and the connections to act on it. Young Radcliffe, meanwhile, was gettin' his education.

He graduated from Laredo High School in 1928, from the University of Texas in 1932, and then, in case anyone thought he was finished, from Harvard Law School in 1935. Three schools, three degrees, and then he came right back to South Texas to get his boots dirty working with his father in the oil fields. That's the thing about Radcliffe Killam.

He kept coming back. In 1942, he entered the U.S. Naval Service.

He served first in the Atlantic Theater, then as commander of a PT boat base near Papua New Guinea. Whatever he saw out there, he carried it quietly, because in 1945 he left the Navy and returned to Laredo. Just like that, back to work.

He and O.W. prospected and drilled, wildcat wells and development wells both, all across South Texas. Now, wildcatting is a particular kind of gamble. You're drilling into ground nobody's proven out yet.

You do it wrong, or just unlucky, and you've got a dry hole and a lighter wallet. Radcliffe drilled them successfully, for oil and natural gas, time and again. When O.W. died in 1959, Radcliffe took the wheel.

Under his supervision, the family business grew and diversified, reaching into cattle ranching, real estate development, and financial investments. He served as director of the Laredo National Bank, director of the Alamo National Bank based in San Antonio, and sat on the boards of several trade organizations. Honors came his way, more than a few.

But here's the chapter that really sticks. Radcliffe Killam became a driving force behind Texas A&M International University, TAMIU, becoming a four-year institution in Laredo. In the early 1990s, he donated land and funds to make it happen.

A man who'd gone from Laredo High School to Harvard Law School understood, in his bones, what education could do for a person and for a place. The marker sums it up straight: Radcliffe Killam's dedication to education, the community, and the oil industry led to the growth of the area and benefited many in the community and the state of Texas. Born in Oklahoma, schooled in Texas and Massachusetts, tested in the Atlantic and the Pacific, home always in Laredo.

Some men spread themselves thin across a big life. Radcliffe Killam spread himself wide, and every bit of it stuck.

What the marker says

RADCLIFFE KILLAM OLIVER WINFIELD "O.W." KILLAM AND HARRIET SMITH KILLAM, THE PARENTS OF RADCLIFFE KILLAM, WERE BORN AND EDUCATED IN MISSOURI, AND MOVED TO LAREDO IN 1920. WITH THEM TRAVELED THEIR SON, RADCLIFFE KILLAM, BORN IN GROVE, OKLAHOMA ON JULY 1, 1910. O.W. CAME TO SOUTH TEXAS TO PROSPECT FOR HYDROCARBONS ON MINERAL LEASES ACQUIRED WHILE HE WAS AN OKLAHOMA STATE SENATOR. RADCLIFFE KILLAM GRADUATED FROM LAREDO HIGH SCHOOL IN 1928, FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS IN 1932, AND FROM HARVARD LAW SCHOOL IN 1935. AFTER COMPLETING HIS EDUCATION, RADCLIFFE RETURNED TO WORK WITH HIS FATHER IN THE OIL FIELDS. IN 1942, HE ENTERED THE U.S. NAVAL SERVICE. HE FIRST SERVED IN THE ATLANTIC THEATER AND THEN AS COMMANDER OF A PT BOAT BASE NEAR PAPUA NEW GUINEA. HE LEFT THE NAVY IN 1945 AND RETURNED TO LAREDO. RADCLIFFE CONTINUED TO WORK WITH HIS FATHER AND SUCCESSFULLY PROSPECT AND DRILL FOR OIL AND NATURAL GAS BY DRILLING WILDCAT AND DEVELOPMENT WELLS THROUGHOUT SOUTH TEXAS. AFTER O.W."S DEATH IN 1959, RADCLIFFE ASSUMED RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE FAMILY BUSINESS. UNDER HIS SUPERVISION, THE BUSINESS GREW AND DIVERSIFIED INTO CATTLE RANCHING, REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT, AND FINANCIAL INVESTMENTS. HE SERVED AS DIRECTOR OF SEVERAL TRADE ORGANIZATIONS, DIRECTOR OF THE LAREDO NATIONAL BANK AND THE ALAMO NATIONAL BANK BASED IN SAN ANTONIO, AND WAS HONORED WITH NUMEROUS AWARDS. RADCLIFFE WAS A DRIVING FORCE BEHIND TEXAS A&M INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY (TAMIU) AS A FOUR-YEAR INSTITUTION IN LAREDO AND DONATED LAND AND FUNDS IN THE EARLY 1990s. RADCLIFFE KILLAM'S DEDICATION TO EDUCATION, THE COMMUNITY, AND THE OIL INDUSTRY LED TO THE GROWTH OF THE AREA AND BENEFITED MANY IN THE COMMUNITY AND THE STATE OF TEXAS. 175 YEARS OF TEXAS INDEPENDENCE * 1836-2011