William "Bill" J. Hlavin

Dr. William J. “Bill” Hlavin passed away peacefully on Saturday, September 19, 2026, in Richfield, Ohio at the age of 83. Bill was born July 2, 1943 in Cleveland, Ohio and lived most of his life in the greater Cleveland area. Bill attended Independence High School and later Ohio University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Geology. Following his undergraduate studies, Bill attended Boston University and earned both a Masters and Ph.D. in Geology.

Bill spent the majority of his career as a geologist and business leader in Ohio, working in the oil and gas industry. Bill served in both technical and leadership roles at Appalachian Exploration and Resource Exploration. In 1983, he founded Bass Energy, Inc., which he proudly led and grew over the past four decades. Bill was inducted into the Ohio Oil and Gas Association’s Hall of Fame in 2014 in recognition of his professional accomplishments.

While the oil and gas industry served as the foundation for his career, he always found time to pursue his true scientific passion, paleontology. As a teenager in the Cleveland area, Bill searched for fossils of armored fish in Big Creek and other nearby creek beds. He pursued his paleontological research and fieldwork throughout his lifetime with adventures in Mexico, Canada and throughout America.. He was particularly proud of the role he played in the famous Interstate 71 dig (1965-1968) of the fossil-rich Cleveland Shale, led by his mentor, former long-time director of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, William E. Scheele.  In 2020, thanks in part to his expertise and effort, Ohio officially recognized the Dunkleosteus terrelli, the apex predator of the late Devonian period, as the State’s official fossil fish. Additionally, several species of ancient fish from the Late Devonian period are named for him, including Kentuckia hlavini and Hlavinichthys jacksoni.

Bill was a member of several professional associations including the Eagle Scout Association, Sigma Xi, the Geological Society of America, the Ohio Academy of Sciences, the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, the Independent Petroleum Association of America, the Ohio Oil and Gas Association, and was a Fellow in the Explorers Club. In addition to professional organizations, Bill was a long-time Trustee of the Ohio Oil and Gas Association, the Western Reserve Land Conservancy and a  Boardmember the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, where he can be spotted in the fossil fish exhibits. 

Bill was also an avid collector of American Art, including impressionist pieces to which he was first exposed while attending Boston University. Additionally, over his lifetime, he collected, traded, and researched antique American stoneware.

Bill was married to and is survived by his loving wife of twenty-three years, Laura Hlavin. He is also survived by his brother Wayne (Lorraine), three sons Daniel (Kathryn), Andrew (Sopitar), and Timothy (Katherine); five grandchildren Jack William Hlavin, Nora Lisa Hlavin, William Edward Hlavin, Phoebe Anne Hlavin, and Thomas Ananda Hlavin, and nieces Katherine (Joshua) and Hannah (Evan); Bill was preceded in death by his much-loved parents William S. and Anne Hlavin.

A celebration of life will be held at Portage Country Club at 2 PM on November 8th, 2026. 

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History’s Annual Fund in memory of William Hlavin at https://www.cmnh.org/support/make-a-gift.

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