Longtime Fort Worth business executive, entrepreneur and philanthropic leader I. Jon Brumley has died, his family and friends confirmed July 3.
Brumley, 85, helped list seven companies on the New York Stock Exchange and was the founder of all but two. Among those he helped found and list was XTO Energy, which was eventually sold to ExxonMobil in a deal valued at $41 billion.
Brumley was also known for his service in the public sector both locally and statewide.
“One of many things about Jon is his character,” said Luther King, founder of Luther King Capital Management, who knew and worked with Brumley for over 60 years. “If you were going to do a deal with him, you didn’t need to go through all the legal parts before it was final. His word was that good. That’s the way he was.”
Brumley meant a lot to Fort Worth and the state, King said.
“His work on behalf of education for the state made Texas a better place and, on the business side, he mentored so many people,” King said. “It’s just a lasting impact.”
In the 1980s, Texas Gov. Mark White appointed Brumley as chairman of the State Board of Education. Brumley was part of a reform effort that resulted in pay raises and competency tests for teachers, bilingual education, class size limits for elementary schools and the landmark “no-pass no-play” rule barring students from participating in sports and other extracurricular activities if they were failing a class.
Fort Worth oil and gas executive Vaughn O. Vennerberg II was president of XTO Energy as it was starting. He said Brumley was very approachable and was always interested in hearing what others in the organization had to say.
“I hate the word icon, but certainly it fits,” said Vennerberg. “He was a great, progressive business leader and the biggest fan of the town and of the state. He contributed not just to business, but to education as well and to the community as a whole.”
Raised in Austin, Brumley earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration at the University of Texas in Austin, and his MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
He began his energy career with Southland Royalty Co., leaving in 1985 after Southland sold to Burlington Northern Railroad.
He then co-founded Cross Timbers Oil Co., which later became XTO Energy.
He was then chairman and CEO of Mesa Petroleum until it merged with Parker & Parsley to form Pioneer Natural Resources.
In 1998, Brumley co-founded Encore Acquisition Company, which he sold in 2010 to Denbury.
Brumley served on various boards and committees, including Texas Heart Institute, the MD Anderson Board of Visitors and the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo board.
Brumley received numerous honors over the years. He was named as Fort Worth’s Business Executive of the Year in 2014. Forbes magazine named Brumley and his son, Jonny, Entrepreneurs of the Year in 2005.
He was inducted into the Petroleum Museum Hall of Fame in 2011, received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Texas Exes, the UT alumni group in 2011. In 2012, he was an Exchange Club Golden Deeds honoree.
Brumley and his wife, Rebecca, established the Red Oak Foundation in 1991 to offer scholarship opportunities for students planning to become public school teachers in Texas. Red Oak expanded in 1997 to provide books and a foundation for reading to disadvantaged children. Red Oak Books has given over 460,000 books through these activities and will give away more than 37,000 books in 2025 to young children and their parents.
Vennerberg said Brumley served as an example to him and other young business leaders at the time.
“Jon taught me that business, no matter what type, is all about relationships and respecting the other party and their beliefs and goals,” said Vennerberg. “That was how you make success currently and going forward. Because more than likely you will cross paths again with those you deal with today.”
Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report, at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org.
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