Ken Nemeth

He attended St. Rita’s in Detroit from first through ninth grade and Clintondale High School for tenth through twelve grade. High school activities and achievements included: basketball, track, captain of the football and wrestling teams, National Honor Society, Quill and Scroll Society, Latin Club, Varsity Club, Key Club, Student Council and Salutatorian. He was inducted into the Clintondale Hall of Fame in 1999 in recognition of outstanding athletic achievement.
At Albion College in Albion, Michigan, he majored in geology and completed a B.A. degree in 1973. He graduated with honors after surviving Division II NCAA football, where he co-captained the team his senior year. Activities and honors include Sigma Nu fraternity, Sigma Gamma Epsilon, Omicron Delta Kappa Society, All MIAA Honorable Mention Football 1972 (Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association), and Albion College Varsity Award.
While completing an M.A. degree in 1976 at the University of Texas, Ken was a teaching assistant in the Department of Geological Sciences and a research assistant at the Bureau of Economic Geology. He had turned in his thesis on a Monday, showed up for work at Shell Oil in New Orleans on Tuesday, and attended his first Mardi Gras the following week. From 1976 to 1980, he worked for Shell and then worked for Louisiana Land & Exploration in New Orleans.
Ken met Sandra Olson in 1976 at the Parc Fontaine Apartments where they both lived. Sandra was a teacher at Archbishop Blenk High School. They married in 1977 at St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans.
By fall 1981, Ken went to work for BlueSky Oil & Gas Company in Houston and later worked for Adobe Resources. In 1991, he moved to Dallas, Texas to work for Browning Oil Company. Schlumberger hired him in Dallas and moved him back to Houston in 1999.
Ken joined the Houston Geological Society (HGS) in 1981, the Dallas Geological Society (DGS) in 1991 and reactivated the membership in HGS in 2001.
A few of the activities and honors:
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAP) Imperial Barrel Award Committee, 2009 – 2016; Candidate for Vice President of Sections, 2011-2012; Vice Chairman, Imperial Barrel Award Committee, 2009 – 2012; Houston Geological Society, Alternate Delegate, 2012; Employment Committee Chairman, 1997 National Convention, Dallas; Dallas Geological Society, Alternate Delegate 1996-1998, 1998-2000; Dallas Geological Society, Delegate Vice-Chairman 1998-2000.
Houston Geological Society (HGS) President, 2014-15; Honorary Membership, 2010; Office Committee Chairman, 2007-2010; Outstanding Service Award, 2007; Guest Night Committee, 2005-2007; Treasurer, 2004-2006; Treasurer-Elect, 2004-2005; Finance Committee Chairman, 2001-2005; Website Committee, 2003-2004; President’s Award 2005; Rising Star Award, 2003; Entertainment Committee, Annual Shrimp Peel 1981-1985, Chairman 1983-85; Employment Committee, 1986-1991; Publicity Committee 1982 GCAGS Convention.
Dallas Geological Society (DGS) Newsletter Editor, Awards Committee Chairman 1998-1999; Co-Founder and Steering Committee Chairman, 1998; former Board Member, and Instructor, Ellison Miles GeoTechnology Institute, Brookhaven College, Dallas , Texas 1998 – 1999; Outstanding Service Award, 1998; Past President, Nominating Committee Chairman, 1997-1998; President, Newsletter staff/editor, 1996-1997, Host Society for AAPG Convention; President-elect/Secretary 1995-1996; Employment Committee 1991-1995, Chairman, 1992-1995.
Gulf Coast Association Geological Society (GCAGS) Continuity Committee Chairman, 2010-2012; Continuity Committee, 2006-2012; Awards Committee, 2008-2011; Past President, 2008-2009; President, 2007-2008; President-Elect/Vice-President, 2006-2007; Section Point Coordinator and Committee for AAPG Imperial Barrel Award, student exploration contest, 2008.
Southwest Section American Association of Petroleum Geologists (SWAAPG) Candidate for President, 1999; Southwest Section Secretary, 1998-1999; Dallas Geological Society Delegate, 1997-1998; Dallas Geological Society Alternate Delegate, 1996-1997.
Ken loved playing tennis. He attended multiple tennis tournaments across the gulf coast and participated in the World Oilman’s Tennis Tournament (WOTT) for over 30 years, held at the Houston Raquet Club.
Surviving him are his wife, Sandra; daughter, Samantha; brother-in-law, Foster Olson; sister, Debbie and her husband, Dan Doyle; nephews, Josh and Kyle Doyle; brother, John and wife, Denise Nemeth; and niece Stephanie and her husband, Michael Lee, and niece, Jennifer and her husband, Curtis Ferguson.
A funeral mass and burial will be held later this week in St. Clair, Michigan. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to AAPG’s Imperial Barrel Award (IBA), American Heart Association, or the charity of your choice in memory of Ken Nemeth.