David Harold “Hud” Hudspeth

Oct. 9, 1963 – April 15, 2015

On the morning of April 15, 2015, David Harold Hudspeth, 51, departed from his loved ones all too soon.He was born in the town of Thermopolis to Billy Ray Hudspeth and Patsy Brimhall Hudspeth on Oct. 9, 1963.  He was the fourth and last child in the family.He is survived by his beautiful daughter Nicole Ashley Hudspeth of Porter, Texas; his father, Billy Ray Hudspeth of Lovell; two sisters, Karen (Randy) Ashcraft of Rexburg, Idaho, and Stacy (Kent) Hessenthaler of Thermopolis and a brother Wayne Hudspeth of Lovell.  He is also survived by many nieces and nephews, who loved him dearly.Dave grew up and graduated from high school in Lovell. He played basketball, football and baseball and was on the track team. He truly loved anything outdoors, including waterskiing, snowskiing, snowmobiling, swimming, hunting and fishing with his father and friends.Dave and his wife of 29 years, Terry Nickle, started dating in high school and were married on June 1, 1985, in Lovell. Dave had many friends in Lovell who loved him and stayed close to him throughout the years.After high school he attended Casper College where he received an associate of science degree in petroleum technology.  He received his bachelor of science degree in petroleum engineering from the Colorado School of Mines in 1988 and received scholastic awards for his achievements.Dave began his professional career as a petroleum engineer with Tenneco in 1988. He was awarded the “New Employee of the Year” honor in 1988 while at Tenneco. Soon afterwards, Chevron acquired the offshore division of Tenneco in which Dave worked.  He remained with Chevron for more than 10 years, where he gained valuable experience in the industry.  During his time at Chevron, Dave was recognized and received multiple awards. He engineered and drilled the first horizontal-short radius well in the Rocky Mountain region and was involved in overseas assignments (Saudi Arabia, North Sea, Nigeria and Australia) and domestic assignments, coordinating drilling activities and on-site support.Wanting to expand his opportunities, he left Chevron and went to work for Anadarko Petroleum.  Here, he put his stamp on the industry with drilling designs and record-breaking wells. He drilled the company’s first deep water project in 17 days known as Marco Polo, drilled numerous sub-salt wells, worked with various drill bit companies and set a new world record for drilling the most continuous footage of salt in one run. He was rated as a “Superior Employee” by APC management (performance within the top 1 percent of corporate staff).He left Anadarko for an opportunity with Manti Resources in Corpus Christi.  At Manti Dave was the operations manager, giving him the responsibilities of all oil and gas operations including facilities and pipelines both on and offshore.  He drilled the first Eagle Ford well in Frio County, where continuous development is being done within Manti. With his many years of experience Dave started an LLC, H-O-G (Hudspeth Oil and Gas), where he did work for Hess, SKH, Rooster Petroleum and Energen.  Dave was recognized as an expert witness in drilling and well control litigation.He was a Licensed PE in the state of Texas, knowledgeable in all aspects of drilling and completions onshore and offshore, both domestic and international.  He was also involved in the junior achievement program and supported many organizations, which included IADC, AADEC, API and SPE. He published multiple papers within the oil industry that he has received continuous recognition for.Dave, Terry and their only daughter Nicole, born Nov. 1, 1990, in Englewood, Colo., moved to Kingwood, Texas in 1992.  Nicole was the center of their world.  Her parents were always busy with her various activities that ranged from scholastic to sports.Dave loved hunting and fishing with his daughter and managed to always support her love of competing on the swim team and in basketball tournaments. Through his busy schedule he usually liked the Reader’s Digest condensed version of the swim meets.He also managed to find time for his favorite activities. These included attending professional sporting events, tailgating, hunting, deep sea fishing, golfing, riding his Harley, rodeo Houston, etc., with his close friends.  He loved taking trips with family and friends to see different parts of the world.Dave and Terry divorced in January of 2014.The outpouring of support for Dave has been very comforting to his family during this difficult time.  The family would like to thank all of his friends who loved him and hope that they are able to join the family in remembering him for all of the good that he brought to this world.Memorial services will be held on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2015, at 11 a.m. at the Lovell Community Center.