Former AEP Senior Vice President Jack Katlic Passes Away

Jack Katlic

John E. “Jack” Katlic, 89, passed away December 16.

Katlic was a senior vice president of AEP from 1984 until his retirement in 1993. In his position, he was responsible for the general management of the coal mining, preparation and transportation subsidiaries of the AEP System’s operating utilities, as well as overall fuel procurement activities. Prior to joining AEP, he was executive vice president-engineering and government relations for Island Creek Coal Company, a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Corp.

Katlic was a graduate of West Virginia University where he received BS and MS degrees in mining engineering. He began his career in 1948 with Rochester and Pittsburgh Coal Company. A leader in the coal industry, he is a past chairman of the National Coal Association and was appointed to the national Inland Waterways Users Board, which advises the Secretary of the Army and Congress on inland waterways priorities and funding. He also was a member of the negotiating team for the 1978 wage agreement negotiations between the Bituminous Coal Operators and the United Mine Workers of America.

Katlic authored “Miner Jack and His Unforgettable People in the Coal Fields,” in 2006 and copyrighted the short story, “Heaven is a Room Full of Dogs,” and gained membership to a number of professional organizations. Some of these include the American Institute of Mining, the Society of Mining Engineers, the National Mine Rescue Association, and the National Mining Association. He was named “Man of the Year” by Coal Age Magazine in 1987, won the Erskine Ramsay Medal from the American Institute of Mining and the Kingery Safety Award from the Pennsylvania Coal Mining Institute of America, both in 1995, and was inducted into the West Virginia Coal Hall of Fame in 2000. Katlic also was selected for inclusion in numerous volumes of Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in the Midwest, Who’s Who in the World, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business.

Katlic was a leader in his Lancaster, Ohio, community as well, serving as chair of the Fairfield Medical Center Board and the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce, and was a founding director of the Fairfield Foundation. He is survived by his wife, Nancy Nicely Katlic, with whom he celebrated 67 years of marriage in August; as well as a brother, David Katlic; and a half-brother, Sydney Deringer. He also is survived by his five children, Mark (Diane) Katlic of Glyndon, MD, Kerry (Anne) Katlic of Penfield, NY, Kevin Katlic of Lexington, KY, Kathy (Chip) Cooper of Worthington, OH, and Nancy (Matt) Gilbert of Hilliard, OH.

A family service will be held in Ligonier, Pennsylvania, at the Ligonier Valley Cemetery Chapel, followed by burial at the Ligonier Valley Cemetery.