George Dreher

George Rice Dreher was one-of-a-kind. Never bound by convention, he lived with passion, creativity, and authenticity, and he made his mark on the world in many unique ways.

George was born to the late Rev. George Kelsey Dreher and Kathryn Rice Dreher in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1950. His large family moved frequently when he was a young boy. By the time George was 14, he had lived in Salt Lake City, Utah; Berkley, California; and Wichita, Kansas. The family settled in Mystic, Connecticut in 1964, where his father would serve as pastor of the Mystic Congregational Church. There, George attended Stonington Highschool and spent a summer working on a lobster fishing boat.

George was blessed with a tremendous native intelligence and gifted in both sports and music. He transferred to Mount Herman (a boarding school in Massachusetts), where his passions for music and adventure grew alongside lifelong friendships. In high school, he played trombone with his band, The Silent Cheer, and attended Woodstock. Always in pursuit of unconventional experiences, George elected to leave Columbia University during his sophomore year to focus on authentic, real-world learning.

It was the early 1970s, and George took to the road, working odd jobs (like baking bread in New Orleans and driving a cab in Boston) while immersing himself in new experiences from the east to west coasts. When offered an invitation to help build a dance studio in New Mexico, George hopped a ride on a Volkswagen Micro Bus to Cordova, where his appreciation for New Mexico’s environment and culture deepened into a lifelong affection. For the next several years, George would spend most of his time living off the land in the Pecos Wilderness. He also lived on the famous commune known as the Hog Farm, worked as a logger, and even helped build the movie set of Greaser’s Palace.

George settled in Midland, Texas in 1975. He was attracted to the oil exploration industry which captured his adventurous spirit as well as his love of technology, science, and entrepreneurship. It was in Midland that George married and started his family. His daughters, Jennifer and Kelsey, would be the lifelong passion that exceeded all others.

Beginning in the oil and gas industry as a roughneck to support his young family, George worked tirelessly until forming his own company in 1979 and reestablishing his independence.  Over his 40+ year career, he made it through the busts and booms of the West Texas oil fields, maintaining and refurbishing equipment, and engaging in exploration and development. George’s innate intelligence and vast creativity eventually led him to invent several new technologies, many patent-approved.  Even in retirement, George continued to explore new areas of interest in oil exploration and development.

Following George’s divorce, he continued to live in Midland while Jennifer and Kelsey spent the school years in Massachusetts with their mom. The girls’ summers with George would always be full of adventure, spontaneity, culture, and nature. Trips to Mexico, state and national parks throughout Texas, the Grand Canyon, and New York City are fondly remembered. However, it was New Mexico that became particularly special to the traveling trio. Their recurring adventures there included the annual Taos Pueblo Pow Wow, summiting Jicarita Peak, as well as many trips to artists communities and museums.

These trips left a particular impression on Jennifer, who lived and worked abroad for many years. George was perpetually supportive of her own unconventional life and was the only one to visit her in each place she lived. They explored the Dominican Republic, climbed the Andes, traversed the Amazon, and immersed themselves in the culture of Sierra Leone.

In 2009, George became a grandfather when Kelsey and her husband, Tim, welcomed the first of their four children. Known as “Grandfather,” George was dedicated to his grandchildren, prioritizing trips to New York and Rhode Island for birthdays and holidays, any excuse he could make to see them. He was patient and kind, letting them get away with almost anything and introducing them to his passions. Notably, the New Mexico wilderness, music, and engineering. Whether it was listening to Bob Dylan or watching the Three Stooges, hiking in New Mexico, or watching videos on maglev trains, George was always teaching his grandchildren to explore ferociously and to never be satisfied with just one way of doing things.

Always an avid music and art fan, upon his retirement, George spent most of his time visiting museums, getting to know local artists, and attending live performances of his favorite pianist Yuja Wang at Carnegie Hall.

George was truly unique. He had the capacity to be many, seemingly contradictory, things all at once. He was an oil explorer and a nature-lover. He was a philosopher, musician, inventor, book publisher, art collector, and farmer. Sometimes he would make the impossible possible, even when nobody else believed he could.

George Rice Dreher died on January 23, 2022, in the place that he loved, at his home in Llano, New Mexico, overlooking Jicarita Peak. He was 71 years old. He leaves his daughter Jennifer Dreher; daughter Kelsey Dreher Johnson, son-in-law Tim Johnson and grandchildren Rice, Anna, Owen, and Quinn Johnson; siblings Brenda Worth, Elizabeth Webb, Timothy Dreher, Marty Dreher, and Andrew Dreher, as well as their partners, and their many children.

George was honored in a Celebration of Life at the Mystic Congregational Church in Mystic, CT on Saturday, February 5. The service was recorded, and you can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygmxxHh0oPY

In lieu of flowers, donations are welcome to the Mystic Congregational Church in George’s memory.