Doug Cearley

Doug Cearley died peacefully in his home on July 12, 2025 at age 72 with his beloved dogs and wife of 51 years nearby.

If Doug were writing his own obituary, it would go through multiple generations, pass through several small towns and likely tie back to the Bible. He was a born storyteller with a passion for history, details and connection – within his tales and with the world around him.

As a lover of learning, he would have included graduating from Graham High School in 1970 as a National Merit Scholar, along with his associate and bachelor’s degrees from Midwestern State University earned later in life. He also would have noted the lessons he learned from the land, from Scripture and from his extensive reading, including the entire Encyclopedia Britannica at age 8.

He was gentle with animals and people alike, and would always stop to help or visit anyone. He was a large man with a huge laugh and an immense heart.

Doug loved the bears in Oklahoma, he loved a well-made firearm and he loved working toward American energy independence. Most of all he loved the Lord, his family and his many dogs – especially Jack, his canine oilfield partner, and the Airedale terriers he bred as pets and hunting dogs for dozens of families.

Born and raised in Young County, Texas, he had traced his lineage many generations back to Europe, and he developed friends across the nation, especially in Texas, Oklahoma and Illinois. His work and his life took him through the layers of the Earth, county politics and the oil business. He was a pumper, roughneck, driller, geologist, petrophysicst, operator, pipeliner and company man. He was, in short, Mr. Oilfield.

A late-in-life convert to Catholicism, his profound faith led him to support multiple parishes and to develop lasting friendships with clergy across the nation.

He was preceded in death by his mother Mary Belle Grisham Cearley and father Allen Douglas Cearley along with a son, James Everett Douglas Cearley. He is survived by his wife Linda; his daughter Sunny and her husband, Adam Brooks; his son Spencer, his wife, Casie, and their daughters, Clara and Alice.

A memorial service will be held at a later date near his ancestral lands in Graham, Texas. Gifts in Doug’s honor may be made to the Texas Right to Life Coalition.