Prescott “Pete” Underwood, 82, of Sheridan, WY, died Thursday, March 11, 2010 in Westview Health Care Center.

Mr. Underwood was born November 5, 1927 in Lawrence, Kansas to Prescott and Doris (Patterson) Underwood. He grew up and attended schools in Lawrence, and then attended the University of Kansas (also in Lawrence) where he received a B. S. Degree in Geological Engineering, and a M. S. Degree in Geology. His thesis was about “The Geology of the Southwestern Big Snowy Mountains, Fergus, County, Montana”.

Mr. Underwood served in the U. S. Army of occupation in Japan, from September 1946 to February 1948.

Pete married Sally Jane Smith in Akron, Ohio in 1952. Pete and Sally followed oil work around Texas, Utah and Colorado with Dowell, Gulf, and Pure Oil companies. They settled in Sheridan in 1962, where they built their home and raised two girls. Sally preceded him in death in 1984. In 1986 Pete married Bertha (Kay) Sims in Topeka, Kansas. Kay had been Pete’s high school sweetheart, and they spent 12 years together, summering in Sheridan and wintering in Yuma, Arizona. She also preceded him in death in 1998.

Mr. Underwood was a full-time professor of geology at Sheridan College from 1966 to 1987. From 1954 through 2006, he provided consulting services in petroleum geology. He loved prospecting for oil in the Big Horn and Powder River Basins. Pete also enjoyed visiting and playing cards with friends, and dreaming of “the next big thing”.

Pete is survived by two daughters, Sandra Jean Underwood, of Bozeman, MT, and Janine Marie Underwood, of Portland, OR; and two sisters, Sarah Black, of Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, and Jane Baker, of Eureka Springs, AR.

Private family services will be held at a later date. Arrangements are with Champion Ferries Funeral Home.

Memorials may be made in memory of Mr. Prescott Underwood to the Sheridan College Foundation, PO Box 6328, Sheridan WY 82801.

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