Benny "Ben" Emmett Law

Benny (Ben) Emmett Law passed away on June 11, 2026, in the presence of his family and friends in Lakewood, Colorado. At the time of his passing Ben was 87 years old, four days short of his 88th birthday. Ben was born in Drain, Oregon on June 15, 1938, to Robert and Gladys Law. He had one sister, Roberta, who was born in 1941. He spent his childhood years in Portland, but Ben and his sister spent many summers with relatives in the Roseberg, Oregon area. In 1956 he graduated from Roosevelt High School in Portland. While in high school he played football and ran track. He earned a football scholarship and initially attended Portland State. His time at Portland State was not long. He then worked various jobs, and moved to Crescent City, California where his mother was living. He worked in a lumber mill for several months and ultimately decided to join the United States Marine Corps (“USMC”).

After joining the USMC, he would meet Susan J. Brill, whom he would marry on September 4, 1960, in Reno, Nevada. The two later moved to Vista, California and lived there until Ben ended his military service. The highlight of Ben’s military service, while stationed at Camp Pendleton, was qualifying for the USMC’s 1st Force Reconnaissance Company which was responsible for conducting amphibious reconnaissance, commando-style raids, deep reconnaissance, irregular warfare, long-range penetration, and special reconnaissance. Ben was airborne certified, qualified as a sharpshooter, a CW Radio Operator and participated in numerous amphibious operations (some requiring swimming several miles into the ocean at night to rendezvous with submerged submarines for extraction). Ben relished both the physical challenges (and opportunities) he had as a member of 1st Force Recon and the lifelong friendships he made.

Ben and Susan then relocated to La Mesa, California, where he would attend San Diego State University and ultimately obtain Bachelor of Science and Master's Degrees in Geology. Notably, as part of what was to be his future, while at SDSU, Ben worked as a field assistant for his longtime friend, Fred “Pete” Peterson, with the United States Geological Survey (“USGS”) in the Kaiparowits Plateau (Utah) and in Page, Arizona. Ben very much enjoyed the experience (later describing it as life-changing). During this time Ben and Susan would have their first child, David, who was born on July 14, 1969. Shortly thereafter, and after graduating from SDSU, Ben accepted a job with Texaco and would relocate the family to the Denver Colorado Metropolitan Area in 1969. After moving to Colorado, Ben and Susan had another addition to the family with the arrival of their daughter, Kristin, on September 13, 1971.

Also in 1971, after being with Texaco for three years, Ben then accepted a job with the USGS Conservation Division and relocated to Casper, Wyoming. As part of his work during that time, Ben frequently was in the field in remote areas within the United States including in: (1) the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming; (2) areas adjacent to Gilette, Wyoming; (3) various areas in Southern Montana, and, (4) in Southern Utah (including significant time in the Henry Mountains). While in Casper, Ben would also be baptized and become a member of the Presbyterian Church PC, USA, which was something he was proud of for the rest of his life.

Ben and his family lived in Casper until 1974, when the family moved to Lakewood, Colorado after Ben transferred to the Denver Federal Center and joined the USGS Geologic Division, where he would work until 1997. During his time with the USGS Ben would be involved in many research projects which would take him to many places nationally and worldwide. Notably, Ben would spend significant time in Pakistan in the 1980s and also worked extensively in the Soviet Union, from Siberia to the Ukraine. In 1997 Ben received an Honorary Doctorate of Science from The VNIGRI Institute (the All-Russian Petroleum Research and Exploration Institute) in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) after helping to lead a five-year exploration program. It was during this time that Ben also hosted frequent visitors from abroad including representatives from Iran (prior to the Islamic Revolution), Pakistan and the Soviet Union.

Ben also authored numerous papers/publications/abstracts (approximately 200) during his time at the USGS on various topics including notable work on basin centered gas systems and coalbed methane, abnormal pressures in hydrocarbon environments and made various gas projections/assessments worldwide based upon his analysis of field data (which in many instances he gathered himself). Ben also frequently made presentations for the USGS and American Association of Petroleum Geologists (“AAPG”). He received several honors for his work including being awarded the AAPG’s Al Leversen Award for best paper in 1981, earning the AAPG’s Outstanding Scientist Award in 1997, and later, in 2015, he received the AAPG’s Pioneer Award which recognized his career and contributions to the field of Geology.

In 1997, Ben retired from the USGS and formed his own company (Pangea Hydrocarbon Exploration, LLC) through which he would conduct significant business consulting and continue his geological research and publications. Through his work he would ultimately be contacted by various international business operations which would be the next chapter of his career path. At this stage of his career, Ben provided geological evaluation and insight into the commercial viability and production possibilities of basin centered gas systems worldwide. These opportunities enabled Ben to have offices in both London and in Budapest for several years, during which he would frequently make presentations to investors (all across Europe, the Middle East and in the United States) in order to raise capital for further exploration and development of basin centered gas systems. Over time, these business operations permitted Ben to utilize his skills as an exploration geologist and consultant for various operations in Russia, Hungry, South Africa, Namibia, Mauritania, Mali, India, Pakistan, China and in Australia. During his final years of work (which concluded in 2016) Ben officed in Sydney, Australia (where he worked for several years) and frequently worked in the Australian Outback and specifically South of Darwin. Through these experiences Ben (and his family) enjoyed meeting people throughout the world, learning customs and insights into foreign cultures from others (in fact Ben spoke conversational Russian and some Urdu) and making lifelong friendships (some of which were enhanced by the many foreigners that visited [and lodged with] Ben and his family).

Beyond his career, Ben was a dedicated husband and outstanding parent. At the time of his passing, Ben and Susan had been married for 65 years. Ben also found time to extensively travel with his family (both internationally and domestically) and frequently attended (and participated in) various sporting/recreational activities with his Grandkids. Ben and Susan also made several trips to various destinations within Africa, Australia, the Middle East, Europe, South America, Southeast Asia and many other places in North America, for example, traveling to Hudson Bay in Canada in order to watch polar bears. Ben and Susan also had opportunities to traverse through the Grand Canyon (which was one of his favorite places) by hiking, floating and riding mules. Ben was defined for his love and passion for the outdoors and frequently enjoyed camping (sometimes rather primitively [that is, with no tent or sleeping bag and simply sleeping on the ground]), hiking, fishing, skiing and generally exploring the beauty of the Rocky Mountain West and Pacific Northwest (in which he took many trips). Ben was very physically active for most of his life, which is further illustrated by his decision to bungee jump at Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe one (1) week before his 75th birthday.

Ben is survived by his wife Susan, son David Law, his wife Molly and their children Kaeden and Camden, as well as daughter Kristin (Law) Douty, her husband Perry, and their children Adam and Ryan.