Risdon William Hankinson

Dr. Risdon William “Hank” Hankinson, a distinguished chemical engineer, devoted community leader, and beloved family man, passed away peacefully on March 8, 2026, in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, at the age of 87.

Born on December 11, 1938, in St. Joseph, Missouri, Hank was the son of William and Rose Mary Hankinson. He graduated from Lafayette High School in 1956. Just before graduation he met the love of his life, Lyla Lee Pollard, and they married on June 4, 1960, at Christ Episcopal Church in St. Joseph. Their marriage spanned nearly 66 years of shared adventure, faith, and family.

A lifelong scholar, Hank earned his B.S. and M.S. from the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy, now Missouri S&T, and his Ph.D. from Iowa State University in 1967. Before beginning his doctoral studies, he served as a Captain in the U.S. Army Chemical Corps at Fort McClellan, where he received the Chemical School Excellence Award. In 1967, Hank and Lyla moved to Bartlesville for what they expected would be a two-year assignment with Phillips Petroleum Company. They fell in love with the community and remained there for nearly six decades. Hank advanced to Manager of Advanced Modeling Technology at Phillips. A Fellow of the AIChE and the Oklahoma Society of Professional Engineers, he received the Hanlon Award in 1996. He authored numerous technical papers, presented his work internationally, and served as Adjunct Professor of Mathematics at Oklahoma State University and Oklahoma Wesleyan University.

Hank was deeply committed to his faith and community. He joined the Catholic Church in 1975 and became an active member of St. John before the Latin Gate Catholic Church, serving as Grand Knight of the Knights of Columbus, an RCIA instructor for more than 20 years, and a member of the Parish Council. He also served as president of the Downtown Kiwanis Club, board chair for the Alcohol and Drug Center Inc., and was a member of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. In retirement he found joy in writing, publishing several works in amateur anthologies, traveling, golfing, and spending Sunday afternoons at the club pool with his family.

He is survived by his wife of nearly 66 years, Lyla Lee Hankinson of Bartlesville; his sister, Elizabeth Miller of Odessa, Missouri; his five children, Ken Hankinson of Vinita, Oklahoma, Michelle Ramsey of Bartlesville, Mike Hankinson and his wife Misty of Lake Jackson, Texas, Mark Hankinson and his wife Lindsey of Dallas, Texas, and Doug Hankinson and his wife Stacey of Edmond, Oklahoma; and six cherished grandchildren who will miss their Papaw dearly. He was preceded in death by his son-in-law, Rodney Ramsey.