John Walters

John Edward Walters passed peacefully at home in Durango, Colorado on March 23, 2015 after long illness. (congestive heart failure).
John was born in Frederick Oklahoma on August 9, 1925 to Doss Howard Walters and Mabel Ruth (Minor) Walters.
John was married 60 years to Mary Louise Hodnett Walters who preceded him in death on December 28, 2007.
He was the youngest of 6 children; he was preceded in death by sisters Mabel Ruth Fry and Edna Sue Simpson and by brothers Jasper Walters, Alfred Gayle Walters and Doss Howard Walters Jr. He is survived by his son Philip H. Walters, daughter-in-law Linda K. Walters, his first cousin L’Deane Trueblood and numerous nieces, nephews and grandnieces and grandnephews.
He graduated from Fredrick High School where he played football. During WWII he enlisted in the US Army May 25, 1943, served 8 months overseas in the European Theater with 103rd Division, 410th Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion, Company B as a Browning Automatic Rifleman. He was captured by the Germans in France and spent 5 months as a prisoner of war. After his liberation and return to the US, he completed his service as an army postal clerk at Walter Reed General Hospital. He was honorably discharged December 4, 1945 with the rank of corporal.
John studied Geology at the University of Oklahoma, where he met his future wife Mary Louise Hodnett. They were married June 3rd, 1947 and John graduated with a BS in Geology in 1948.
John & Mary moved to Houston, Texas, where John went to work for Humble as a petroleum geologist. After a number of years at Humble, John was hired by Michel T. Halbouty as an exploration geologist. In the mid-sixties, John joined Kerr-McGee and was involved in their uranium exploration as well as their petroleum exploration activities. John was then approached by long time friend Joe Walter to join a small royalty company and help grow it into an oil and mineral exploration company. This company became Houston Oil & Minerals, and John was its successful VP of Exploration and Construction. When HO&M was purchased by Tenneco in the late 1970s, John started his own consulting company, Walters Exploration.
During the 1980s John found he was less interested in consulting than he was in travelling, hunting and fishing. He acquired some ranch properties in Texas, and he and Mary began to explore the world, mostly through cruises, a mode of travel they both enjoyed. Their travels on land brought them to Durango Colorado for a visit the summer of 1991, which they fell in love with. They bought property here in 1991 and moved here permanently in March 1993.
After Mary passed away, John continued to travel, and upon the realization that he had visited every continent except Antarctica, in late 2008 he decided to take a 30 day trip into the southern ice on a Russian icebreaker accompanied by his son Philip, landing on his seventh continent in several amazing places. John’s business card said simply “Adventurer”.
Philip and Linda would like to thank Mercy Home Health and Hospice of Mercy for their wonderful services and a special thanks to Annalice Novinger for all of the help she has provided to John.
The family asks that any memorial donations be made for the benefit of Mercy Home Health and Hospice of Mercy through the Mercy Health Foundation http://www.mhffnd.org
A celebration of Life will be held 11:00am April 25, 2015 at the Mancos United Methodist Church. Visit www.hoodmortuary.com for service details.