Darryl R. Fahey

A Celebration of Life for Darryl R. Fahey, 82, Lawrence, Kansas, will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 2, 2024, at Warren-McElwain Mortuary in Lawrence, KS.

Darryl was born and raised in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and passed away October 10, 2024, in Lawrence, KS. Fahey attended the University of North Dakota where he received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry. In 1968, he began his career at Phillips Petroleum Company Research and Development in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, wherein he conducted research in the areas of catalysis and polymers resulting in numerous patents, publications, invited lectures and company recognition awards. He was especially proud of leading the team that discovered, developed and scaled up Phillips’ proprietary metallocene catalyst technology now in use for polyethylene production. When Chevron Phillips Chemical Company formed in 2000, he became an employee of this joint venture company. He was Manager of Specialty Chemicals and Plastics Technology with responsibility for groups in Bartlesville and Kingwood, Texas.

A former avid bicyclist, he had cycled up both Mt. Evans in Colorado and Mt. Washington in New Hampshire. In 1984, he captured first place overall in the Oklahoma Grand Prix race series. In 2004, Darryl moved to Lawrence, Kansas. He worked for the University of Kansas as an Industrial Liaison Director for ten years. In the meantime, he and his wife traveled the world over. They only missed two countries – Iceland and India.

He is survived by his wife, Karin, and preceded in death by his son, Ryan, his parents, Richard and Gladys, and his brother, Roger.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Darryl’s name to The Lawrence Humane society and may be sent in care of Warren-McElwain Mortuary, 120 W. 13th Street, Lawrence, Kansas 66044.