James Rudolph Gazewood or Jim, Dad, Uncle Jim, or Grandpa by those who know him, died of natural causes at age 88 years in Richland, WA, on Saturday, August 20, 2022. He had been a resident at Brookdale Richland Assisted Living Center.
Jim was born February 23, 1934, in Haybro, CO, to John Albert Gazewood and Mary Vincentia Plesec Gazewood. His father immigrated as a young man from Novo Mesto, Austria and was an underground mine timber foreman for the Colorado and Utah Coal Mines Company in Mount Harris, Colorado. His mother was born in Pueblo, CO, and grew up in Aspen. John and Mary were married in 1925. Jim was the sixth born of Mary’s eight children that included two stepsisters Mary and Margaret, brothers John, Frank, Joseph, Robert, and Richard.
In 1952, he graduated from Mount Harris High School where he lettered in football and wrestling, a sport in which he excelled and was essentially undefeated. He attended the University of Colorado for a year with an intent to become a physical education teacher.
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In 1953, Jim started work as an oil field roughneck with his brother Joe in the Powder Wash Field of northwest Colorado. Jim worked for the Henry Gist Drilling Company of Casper, WY (later acquired by R.L. Manning) for many years at various locales in Wyoming, Colorado, Montana, and Utah.
Jim married Virginia Jean Williams on April 19, 1958, at the St. James Catholic Church in Glendive, Montana. Alex and Annie Maser were best man and maid of honor.
As a young married couple, Jim & Virginia lived in a series of small mobile homes that were moved to follow Jim’s work. They began to raise a family of five children. James as the first child born in Laramie, WY, followed by Michael in Vernal, UT, and Patrick in Pinedale, WY, Anna in Rock Springs and Brian in Casper, WY.
In 1966, Jim attended welding school in Denver. Following trade school, Jim took a job as an oil field fishing tool operator with Casper Fishing Tool Service. Later in life, Jim would reflect that his fishing tool experience was the best training he could have ever received. Lengthy fishing jobs would require weeks and sometimes months away from family and home. Jim would later admit that the kids were primarily raised by Virginia and lamented having to discipline the kids for their bad behavior that had occurred weeks previous while he was away on fishing jobs. There were many nights that he spent sleeping in his company truck on jobs that ran 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Years later, Jim’s fishing experience would provide an invaluable mentorship for his son Mike, who started his own successful coiled-tubing downhole tool company with a number of tool patents and equipment delivered worldwide. Jim was very proud of Mike and what he had accomplished.
In 1974, Jim was offered a “company-man” position as a drilling foreman with Mountain Fuel Supply Company (MFSC) in Rock Springs, WY. Jim’s old Henry Gist work friend, Alex Maser was a MFSC drilling foreman and recommended Jim to the drilling superintendent as a “good hand” to hire.
During the next three decades, Jim and Virginia raised their family in Rock Springs which included their first grandchildren. The family flourished in Rock Springs from the great school system and sports programs, outdoor recreation, many good friends, and the opportunities available. Virginia owned Ginees’s Music Studio teaching piano and organ students.
Jim’s work ethic enabled him to become a highly valued employee of the MFSC Drilling Department through experience conducting gas well drilling, high-pressure well completions, and overseeing their more complex well fishing jobs to “Clean up the train-wrecks of others.” He worked in numerous natural gas and oil fields in Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Nebraska, Utah, and Wyoming.
During his time with Mountain Fuel (later Wexpro, Celsius and Questar), Jim oversaw several significant well operations. In 1985, Celsius assigned Jim to oversee the drilling of the Powder Wash Deep Well No.1. This test well would be the company’s most expensive well to date and would be the deepest ever drilled in Colorado. The great depth of the well presented many technical challenges and required one of the largest drilling rigs in North America. A special operation included the use of huge hydraulic jacks to run and set a long and heavy casing string. The well ultimately was deemed a dry hole and 37-years later is still the deepest true vertical depth well in the state of Colorado.
Celsius experienced a well blow-out near Cortez, CO. Company management dispatched the famous Boots & Coots Well Control Company of Texas and had directed Jim to go to the well to oversee the work. When Boots & Coots arrived on location, they found there was no longer a blowout as Jim had taken as the site foreman, simple and safe corrective action. A Boots & Coots well control specialist remarked to Jim “Why in the hell did your management even call us?” Together, they shook their hard-hatted heads and had a good chuckle. Subsequently, Boots & Coots billed Celsius for mobilization cost and Jim received a box in the company mail containing a set of the famous Boots & Coots white coveralls and a couple company hats to the dismay of some management.
Throughout the Rocky Mountain oil patch, Jim had a reputation as a “hardass.” Workers headed to a well location under Jim’s supervision were warned “not to piss-off the old man.” “Ass-chewins” were handed out on occasion and were mostly, well deserved. In spite of the “positive” emotional reinforcement offered by Jim, workers that proved to be fit of body and sound of mind enjoyed working for him. Many becoming life-long friends and/or admirers.
While he took work seriously, he was known to have a sense of humor on location. At the very end of the Powder Wash Deep well testing and temporary abandonment, Jim took a screwdriver to the back of a pressure gauge that was located at the top of the wellhead. He adjusted the gauge’s indicator from zero to exactly 9,500 pounds per-square-inch (psi). He climbed down and left it there. Sometime later, a company manager touring the area to show a family member the “historic” Powder Wash Company Camp, drove over to the nearby deep well location. There he saw the wellhead’s pressure reading 9,500 psi. Considerable radio chatter ensued between the manager and others including field production personnel. The pumpers were in on the joke as they knew the well was non-productive and had no pressure. In 2007, 20 years later, the well location was visited by one of Jim’s sons. The gauge at the top of the wellhead still read 9,500 psi. Indeed, a long-standing tribute from the Powder Wash field pumpers towards Jim.
In 1996, Jim retired as senior drilling foreman after 27-years with Questar and 43-years in the oil patch. He and Virginia built a beautiful retirement home in northwestern Montana overlooking South Juniper Bay on Flathead Lake and the Swan Mountain Range. Jim enjoyed lake fishing in his boat with vacationing family and friends; mowing their large lawn and watering trees using water from his “perfectly-drilled” water well; enjoying the fabrication of things like freestanding lawn sprinklers welded together using discarded worn gas wellhead ring gaskets – like an old “don’t waste it” retired company man would do. When Montana winters would descend, Jim and Virginia would travel south to the Texas hill country to see son Mike and wife Helen as well as other Family along the way. Many memories were made at their Lakeside retirement home.
In 2012, Jim and Virginia established a second home in Kennewick, WA, to be near son Brian and his wife Susan and family. They continued to travel to their Lakeside, Montana home enjoying the best that each location had to offer.
Jim’s past interests included attending his kid’s high school sporting events, being a member of the old school of fly-fishing, enjoying his lake fishing boat with family and friends, private plane flights with work friends to fish lakes in northern Canada, elk and moose hunting adventures that later included oil service company hunting camps. He was a lifelong avid Denver Bronco’s fan who could somehow, always obtain Mile High Stadium tickets and later attended Super Bowl XIX where the Bronco’s did not play. Jim enjoyed sharing his past experiences and perspectives with his adult kids, their spouses, his grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Jim sacrificed to work a career he enjoyed, but his work required that he be absent from many family events. His absence did not mean he didn’t love his wife and family; but it was his life-long desire to ensure they had everything needed. His example and teaching made all his children the great adults they are today. He was always honest and tough (when needed) ensuring his children knew their parents’ expectations.
Starting in 2016, Jim began to experience health problems requiring occasional hospitalizations.
Jim is survived by his wife of 64 years, Virginia Gazewood of Kennewick, WA. Sons and daughters including Jim (Carol) Gazewood, North Ogden, UT, Helen Gazewood, Fredricksburg, TX, Pat (Penny) Gazewood, Spring Creek, NV, Anna Capell, Robin, ID, and Brian (Susan) Gazewood, Kennewick, WA. Nine grandchildren including Jim (Andolina) O’Lexey, Billings, MT, Lacy (Clinton) Nation, Billings, MT, Lindsey (Wade) Michaelson, Robin, ID, Ross (Nicolle) Capell, Pocatello, ID, Matthew Gazewood, Spring Creek, NV, Kristina (Eric) Edwards, Kennewick, WA, Summer (Jonathan) Callender, Ely, NV, Jacob and Jaclyn Gazewood, Kennewick, WA and 25 great- grandchildren. Brothers Robert Gazewood, Warrenton, WA and Richard Gazewood, Seattle, WA. Nephews Ron (Laurie) Rippen, Denver, CO, Gary (Sharon) Rippen, Brookville, MD, Mark Gazewood, Denver, CO, Mike (Beth) Gazewood, Henderson, CO, John (Patty) Gazewood, Charlottesville, VA, Julie (Paul) Jovias, Mansfield, TX, Jason Gazewood, Fairbanks, AK, Bob (Rita) Gazewood, Seattle, WA. In-laws including Rose Williams, Casper, WY, Joan Davis, Somerset, SD, Donald (Connie) Williams, Casper, WY, Janee (Bob) Webber, other nieces, and nephews as extended family members.
Jim was preceded in death by his parents, half-sisters Mary and Margaret, brothers John, Frank and Joe Gazewood, son Mike Gazewood, son-in-law Brian Capell, and recently, his brother-in-law Jerry Williams.
On Friday, September 2, 2022, a private family ceremony (rosary, mass, and luncheon) will occur from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Holy Spirit Catholic Church, 7409 W Clearwater Ave, Kennewick, WA 99336.
In leu of flowers, the family requests the consideration of financial donations to be made to the Dup15q Alliance located online at www.dup15q.org or by check to the address of 250 N Trade St, Suite 205 PMB 155, Matthews, NC 28105.
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