CAS CONNECT 2013

Family at 50 4 So at the age of 50, Vennerberg decided to start a family, using the help of surrogates. Today, the 58-year-old has three biolog- ical sons: Trey, 8; Luke, 7; and Zach, 6. The boys are biologi- cal brothers. Vennerberg didn’t start out planning to have three sons. But a curve ball came with the first one, and it was devastating. He still remembers the obstetrician’s first words to him after Trey was born prematurely: “I know this is not the news you wanted to hear.” For more than 30 years, oil and gas executive Vaughn O. Vennerberg II’s life focused on his career. Trey, born with a rare chro- mosomal disorder, spent his first eight weeks in a neona- tal intensive care unit. He was not expected to survive. Family and friends helped, staying by Trey’s side night and day while Vennerberg continued to work full-time for XTO Energy. “Trey was in severe condi- tion, and it was hit or miss,” he says. “I wouldn’t wish this upon any parent, but I learned from the experience.” What he learned, in part, is that genetics is one of the greatest frontiers in science, and money is desperately needed for research. “I worked all my life, exten- sively, 12-hour days, six and seven days a week,” Vennerberg says. “During that period of my life, I watched many of my friends with children. I watched their kids grow up, and it was a wonderful thing. “I knew if I was going to have children, I needed to do something soon, or it wasn’t going to happen.” Lorene A. Roberson / Words Matt Strasen / photography