Bobby Saul

Bobby Gene Saul was predeceased by his first wife, Barbara Ann Owens Saul, and his oldest son, John Douglas Saul. Bob is survived by his second wife, Rita Booth-Saul, a son, Michael Thomas Saul (Belle) and daughter Jo Saul Becksted (Jonathan), five grandchildren; Michael Dean Saul, Heather Saul Davis, Christopher Drake Becksted, Mariah Saul Becksted Powell, Sean Allen Saul, and great grandson Alejandro Luis Powell. Bob is also survived by his favorite nephew, “Wild Bill” (aka Billy Carson Saul), numerous Saul nieces and nephews, his “adopted” family; David Booth, Mark Booth and Jill Booth Weatherd, grandchildren Kolter, Cody, Hunter, Jackson, Caila, Hannah & Levi and numerous Booth great grandchildren.

Bob graduated from High School in New London, TX in 1947. He worked for New London High School for four months until the next fall when he attended Kilgore Jr College until October 1948 when he volunteered for the Navy until 1952. He was an aircraft mechanic. He met a beautiful 16-yr old girl in 1951 and he married her, Barbara Owens, on February 1952 when she was 17 years old. After his stint with the Navy in 1952, he went back to work for Humble Oil, working in the Texas and New Mexico oil patch. He moved his family to Cortez, CO in 1962 then to Farmington, New Mexico in 1969. He left New Mexico on loan to Alyeska Pipeline to be a pipeline inspector for the 840-mile trans Alaskan Pipeline. While working for Alyeska pipeline, Bob worked on the North Slope of Alaska, flying in and out of Deadhorse Airport. He was in Point Barrow, Alaska once. This is the most northern community in North America. Exxon transferred Bob to New Orleans in 1972 to be an offshore drilling technician then drilling superintendent. While Bob was in New Orleans, Exxon sent him to Japan to inspect a big semisubmersible drilling rig, the Alaskan Star in Hiroshima. Bob worked on the Alaskan Star in the Gulf of Alaska until he was transferred to Midland, TX in 1977. From there he worked on rigs all over the western United States as a Senior Drilling Superintendent. Bob took early retirement in 1986, moved back to New Mexico and built a home on the Animas River. Unfortunately, his wife of 47 years, Barbara, passed in 1997. So he then went back to work; He wrote the well control school curriculum for San Juan College and taught well control school for San Juan College and Randy Smith Drilling Technologies out of Lafayette, LA for eight years. In 1988 Bob became president of Riverside Water Association (now North Star water) and was able to solicit for the funding needed from the state and the oil & gas industry to put in potable water to the state line. Bob married Rita Booth on October 14, 1998. Rita and her late husband Jack Booth had been best friends with Bob and his first wife Barbara when they all lived in Cortez.

Services for Bob will be on Saturday, May 22, 2021 at 2pm at the First Presbyterian Church in Durango, with burial to follow at Greenmount Cemetery.