Skidmore Gives Back to his "Backyard"

Before he ever attended the University of Utah, the campus was Earl Skidmore's playground and recreation center.

"I grew up less than two blocks away from campus so you might say I had the best backyard around," said Skidmore.

Skidmore remembers watching the construction of the Leroy Taylor School of Engineering as a child. One day, he observed men working a steam shovel who invited him to join them and actually operate it.

On another occasion, Earl was riding his bike across campus and noticed a swarm of flies near the anthropology building. Ever curious, he wandered toward the flies and came upon a dead grizzly bear. Earl shouted through an open window asking a professor if he was aware of the bear. The professor replied that the zoo had dropped off the bear to be examined by U scientists.

"I was always extremely curious and I was fortunate in meeting people that didn't chase me away," remarks Skidmore.

As a U student, Earl majored in sociology and anthropology and earned a minor in zoology and chemistry . . . in THREE YEARS.

"It was the best of both worlds. I always wanted to be a doctor and needed the sciences," explained Skidmore. "I could read about it one day then go into a lab and put my hands on it the next."

Upon graduation, two things tore at Earl — going to medical school and enlisting in the armed services. Even though seven of eight medical schools had accepted his applications, Earl was unsure about becoming a doctor.

"I decided to kill two birds with one stone. I enlisted in the Navy and got into the hospital corps school. That way I could find out if I really enjoyed practicing medicine and serve my country," said Skidmore.

Curiosity, fortune and even misfortune combined to move Earl from the military to medical school to working in the oil and gas industry and finally to creating his own company. Just about the same time he began working for Phillips Petroleum, Earl married his college sweetheart, Elies. The two met at the U — she, the "Sweetheart of Sigma Chi" and he, a member of the fraternity.

Skidmore's company, Pressure Vessel Services specialized in handling chemicals and creating a variety of chemical solutions. Three examples illustrate the array of work Earl did at PVS. His company created a wash — a cleaning solution, which is still used by grocery stores to clean produce such as lettuce and spinach. When Boeing constructed the 747, PVS provided a solution in which the landing gear struts were bathed. Perhaps most interesting, the company worked with NASA to improve the performance of panels on the space shuttle as it reenters the earth's atmosphere.

"No one else was doing these types of things when I started the company. Handling chemicals was too big of a risk for big companies at that time," explains Skidmore.

Earl's success has circled back to his backyard. Last fall, Earl and Elies gave $540,000 to the College for an endowment that will provide six honor roll scholarships.

"I got so much out of the U. That's why Elies and I decided to give back," said Skidmore. "If just one recipient gets themselves prepared for this old life, we'll be happy. Hopefully they'll come to love the school like I do."