Jack Harbison

Funeral services for Jack A. Harbison, 78, will be held at 1:00pm Wednesday, February 21, 2007, at Newcomer Family Funeral Home with Pastor Gary Hans from Sunrise Baptist Church officiating. Visitation will be from 11:00am till 1:00pm also Wednesday, February 21, 2007. Burial will be in Highland Cemetery. He died February 15, 2007 at the Central Wyoming Hospice Home after an 18 year battle with prostate cancer.

He was born April 20, 1928 in Conesville, IA to Herbert and Mildred (Ramer) Harbison. He was raised in Colombus Junction, IA and graduated from high school there in 1946. Soon after graduation, his sister Marge got him a job on a survey crew in Southern Louisiana/East Texas. It was hard work, and long days before getting back to camp where there was a card game every night. He noticed that some of the guys made more money playing cards than they made during the day, and he wanted to figure out how that was done. He didn't stop working, but he did learn how to better "read" people and how take a calculated risk.

He married Bette M. Kauffman, on March 11, 1950, in The Little Brown Church of Nashua, IA and they immediately moved to the gulf coast of Texas. Jack was a surveyor for Petroleum Geophysical Corporation. With his ingenuity and Bette's energy, they figured out a way to earn extra money by making surface plugs, out of cement, using old quart oil cans as forms. These would fit in the drill holes left by the seismic rigs and they made 25¢/plug for their efforts. Their ingenuity and energy served them well during the next 14 years as they moved 28 times, including tours in the Phillipines and Canada, and had three children, Deanna born on the gulf coast of Texas, Kim born in Havre, Montana and Jack II born in Riverton, WY.

Jack moved up to Vice President at PGC, lived in an affluent neighborhood, worked in a downtown Denver office, and even belonged to a suburban country club. Things looked great but were short lived. Unfortunate circumstances cost him his share of the corporation, and he was suddenly out of work. He soon had an opportunity to work pushing tools for some friends, Tad Harris and Forrest Reid, on a rig that was drilling for uranium in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming. The industry looked promising, so Jack and Bette decided to borrow the money for their first rig (Bertha), and formed Harbison Drilling Company, in Casper, about late 1968. The industry slumped 2 years later. One driller said that "Jack Harbison could fall into a pile of (manure) and come out smelling like a rose". He did this time too; but it took contacting a lot of people, hustling, and taking a gamble here and there. He landed a long term job with Conoco that turned things around. Eventually they sold out to American Nuclear Corporation and he thought they wouldn't have to work so hard again. The first tax bill told him that they had to do something quick.


In 1975, with daughter and son-in-law, Deanna and Larry Fagerquist, they formed Drilling Enterprises, Inc. as a coal exploration contract drilling company. National economics changed again, and it was necessary to change the drilling operations. Jack was never afraid to ask questions and was blessed with a knack for engineering. He learned about new techniques, new equipment, or got new training in order for his crews to be successful. He ended up getting work from Kansas to California, and from Arizona to Montana drilling not only for coal, but also uranium, geothermal, gold, oil & gas, environmental investigations, heat pumps, trona, water and cathodic protection. With Bette paying the bills and keeping the company legal and licensed in all the states, the company thrived. He never squawked about money spent to keep the equipment maintained, serviced, and clean. He never hesitated to supply extra equipment or arrange for on site technical support, if it would improve the job performance. He learned to fly his own airplane as a better way to support the out of state jobs and ended up owning two planes.

Jack loved to deal with people. During one slump, he bought used equipment for resale. His calculated gamble turned him a profit as these old rigs, trucks, pumps, etc., that looked like junk, actually found new homes and income after he had the hands clean, repair, and paint them. There were many transactions during his life that, after much haggling, were completed by the flip of a coin or drawing a straw to see if the final price was going to be the agreed upon amount, or one with a further substantial discount. His pickup was always a Ford and he loved to strike a hard bargain.

He loved auctions and auctioneers loved him. It was no surprise, when in 2002, Drilling Enterprises, Inc. was sold at auction. His interests in traveling and trying new things had been a little hampered, but now he could concentrate more of his time on them. Adventures before and after the sale of the company included: para-sailing and bungy jumping in Australia/New Zealand with cousin Bob, scuba-diving and Caribbean/Alaska cruises with brother-in-law Max, a road trip to Alaska with son-in-law Ron, Belize with son Jack and family, Mexico with daughter Kim and family, several trips around the U.S. with his sister Marge, taking his 2 oldest grandsons to California and escorting his 2 granddaughters to NYC.

Survivors include his 3 children, Deanna(Larry) Fagerquist of Crested Butte, CO, Kim(Ron) Salveson of Casper, Jack II (Dawn) Harbison of Gillette. Five grandchildren Jack III (Jessann) Harbison of Hawaii, Casey (Danielle) Fagerquist of Alaska, Sloane Johnson and Paul Salveson of Casper and Robyn Harbison of Gillette, his sister Margery Dodder of Columbus Junction, IA and brother Herbert Harbison of Morning Sun, IA.

Jack was preceded in death by his wife and business partner, Bette, of 52 years in 2002 and by both of his parents.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate memorials to the Central Wyoming Hospice Home.