Eddie Chiles

Who was Eddie Chiles?

Harrell Edmonds "Eddie" Chiles was the founder of the Western Company of North America and an owner of the Texas Rangers. He was also the paternal uncle of actress Lois Chiles.

Eddie Chiles was born in Itasca, Texas to Harsh Edmonds Chiles and Jewell Files. After graduating from Wentworth Military Academy in Lexington, Missouri, he worked as an oil patch roustabout before hitchhiking to Norman, Oklahoma in 1930. In 1934, he graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a B.S. degree in Petroleum Engineering.

In 1939, after working as a Sales Engineer with Reed Roller Bit Company in Houston, he founded the Western Company of North America. He started the company with two trucks and three employees. Western served the petroleum industry with technical services required in the discovery and production of oil and gas. The company grew to become a major oil services firm, primarily in acidizing, fracturing and cementing. At its peak, the Western Company had over 5,000 employees and annual worldwide revenues of over $500 million. During the 1970s, the Western Company also operated an offshore drilling company run by Mr. Chiles' brother, Clay Chiles. The company was sold to BJ Services in 1995.