(Edit: never mind. I think there's some mistake in your chronology that renders my numbers invalid. Died at 84 in 2017 == born in 1933. Retired in 1988 at age 55, probably not after 60 years at XOM, more like 30; or retired after 60 years, probably more like 1933+18+60=2011. Guessing maybe he retired at age 60 in 1993? Got sick at 72 in 2005? Died at 84? The numbers change a bit--missed out some big gains in 1988 and 1989, hit the flat 2000s, and probably got creamed by having to cash a lot out during 2008 crash.)

What I was going to post based on your original report of retiring in 1988 with $3M (keeping it for illustrative purposes):

He must have sold the stock when he retired to buy that house and those cars. Had he kept it in XOM, his $3 million would have been worth $22 million today, with a dividend that would have covered his expenses and that kept pace with inflation.

Not that keeping your nest egg in a single stock would have been advisable, but the S&P return for that would have been comparable.