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Michael Wassell
Mark Wassell
April 21st, 1952 - April 14th, 2020
April 21st, 1952 - April 14th, 2020
Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;
Mark Ellsworth Wassell.
It is with great sadness that we have to announce that on April 14th, an amazing man, Mark Wassell, peacefully passed away. Born April 21, 1952 to the late June Bale Wassell and William B. Wassell. Mark graduated from Hall High School in 1970. He received an Associates of Science in Mechanical Engineering at the Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, Masachuesttes in 1972 before earning a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Arizona in 1975.
Mark worked as an engineer for Terry Turbine until 1986, then worked as a Senior Engineer at Teleco Oil Field Services until 1992 when it was acquired by Baker Hughes. Mark and his family moved from Glastonbury, Connecticut to Houston, Texas and he continued to work for Baker Hughes as a Senior Engineer. In 1997, he left Baker Hughes to work at APS Technologies as Director of Analytical Engineering until his retirement in 2019. Professionally, Mark was recognized as a leading expert in drilling dynamics with over 20 years of oilfield experience. He has developed downhole tools for measuring drilling dynamics and novel downhole tools that mitigate the effects of shock and vibration. Mark is also responsible for developing drilling software used industry wide for optimizing drilling performance. Mark has been granted numerous patents and has published several technical papers.
Mark enjoyed sports of every kind and was an outstanding golfer and skier and served on the Ski Patrol. He enjoyed ice hockey and continued with adult leagues for many years as well as water sports, boating, windsurfing, fishing, and watching college football and played rugby in college. Additionally, he had a love for music and played in a band in High School as a talented guitar and banjo player. He continued his love of music throughout his life, amassing a sizable record collection and appreciation of hi-fidelity stereo equipment. Following in his father’s footsteps, he was a very gifted artist in several mediums, and found great pleasure in creating many beautiful works of art. Mark was a very dedicated father who will be dearly missed by his children. He made great contributions in Michael and Kayla’s life, from driving hours to the early morning hockey practices every weekend to horseback riding lessons, he was truly a great man, father, and grandfather.
Besides Debbie (Wayne) Wassell of Onalaska, TX, Mark is survived by the mother of his children: Carol Dimmett of Humble, TX; His loving children: Kayla Wassell of Humble, TX; Michael and Courtney (Heaton) Wassell of Humble, TX; and stepson Kyle and Andrew Martin of Houston, TX; his siblings: Steve and Sharon (Mulberry) Wassell of Haddam, CT; Ann (Wassell) and Alan Hughes of Hebron, CT; and Charles and Karen (Spalla) Wassell of McCormick, SC; and his three amazing grandchildren: Ryan Wassell of Humble, TX; Daniel Wassell of Humble, TX and Brandon Wassell who is proudly serving our country in the US Navy. Family and friends will be received at a memorial gathering at a time and date that will be determined in the future. Messages of condolences and memories may be sent to the family at www.MarkWassell.com
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Lindsay, Jordan, Reeve And Ledger Hirsch
Mark was a wonderful, intelligent and extremely kind man. I’m very glad my family and I got to know him, and spend so many celebratory and social occasions with him. He will be greatly missed, but never forgotten. Rest In Peace, Mark.
Martin E Cobern
Mark was more than just a coworker. He was a friend and an inspiration. May his memory be a blessing.
Charlie Wassell
My oldest brother Mark, by 6 years, was a man of few words. When we were very young, I thought he didn't like me because he seldom spoke to me. But when he did speak, I listened. I don't think he knew how much he influenced my life. I remember carefully opening the door to the stairway that lead up to his room in the attic, I would sit quietly on the bottom step so I could listen to him play guitar and sing. I knew if he knew I was there he would stop and I didn't want him to stop. I wanted so bad to play guitar like him. I asked for guitar lessons that year and the next, but I guess I never got that music gene. He played a lot of hockey and would include me in his back yard practices. I would be goalie, and believe me he had a very hard shot. I would be covered in bruises and welts, but I loved every minute of it. He even let me tag-a-long with his friends sometimes, fishing, skiing, a trip to the beach. I loved it because he would talk a little on the car rides. When we got a little older we played a lot of hockey together and even though we lived a couple towns apart, I would always offer to pick him up so we could drive together and talk. Many years later, I had the opportunity to work with him at APS Technologies, he was in Houston and I was in Cromwell, CT. but that's when I found out how incredibly smart he was. He was highly respected for his achievements and accomplishments which are too many to list here. He was truly a brilliant man. I guess I didn't get that gene either. These last few years have been incredibly hard on him, his family and close friends. His passing is a tragic end to a glorious life, cut short and robbed of well deserved retirement which I'm sure would not have been idle and would have been full of great memories. I love you Mark, and will miss you for the rest of my life. Your little brother Charlie.
Bill Turner
Mark was my friend for 34 years. He joined my small mechanical engineering group at Teleco in 1986 and was a valuable asset from day 1. We both had similar backgrounds in turbomachinery so our approach to equipment design and problem solving was complimentary. He worked in several departments during his career at Teleco, wherever his skills were needed. Mark was a great analyst. Given a problem we had never seen before, he would start from first principles and develop a theoretical model to lead us to a solution. He had a great understanding of Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and could utilize any of the commercial programs, although he preferred ANSYS. I’ve never seen one individual who had the capability to develop a theoretical understanding of a problem, perform the modeling and analysis, and then develop a practical solution. Mark also developed several important computer programs related to drill string vibrations and connection analysis and was the chief mechanical engineer in several large projects including the Teleco Triple Combo tool. After the Teleco sale he remained with Baker Hughes and relocated to Houston, but he and I remained in close contact. We presented a joint paper at an ASME conference and eventually I was able to convince him to join APS. He was our only Texas employee for quite a while and worked out of several small offices until we acquired our current facility. With APS he did the same types of work he had done at Teleco but with a much broader scope. Mark was granted 32 US patents, 3 during his Terry Turbine days and the remainder while at APS. He still has patents in prosecution, so certainly more will be granted. He developed several new tools at APS including the Active Vibration Damper, as well as testing facilities such as the APS Pressure Test Vessel (27,500 psi, 200⁰C), and computer programs (WellDrill, SureDrill, and Optimizer). He was a key part of the APS organization and will be greatly missed. Mark had many other skills and interests outside of work. Although I am not a golfer nor a hockey player, these are the sports that I most heard about his exploits. In particular his ability to drive a golf ball an outrageous distance was well known. He also had taken up wind surfing and that was his latest passion. Mark was a great friend to me and many others. I always respected his opinion, although it was sometimes difficult to get it out of him. He was a partner and co-worker that I’ve missed every day since he took sick. His work will live on in the oil industry long after we’re all gone. Thank you Mark.
Steve Krase
Rest In Peace Mark. My deepest and sincere condolences to Debbie and all of Mark’s family. One of the nicest guys and certainly one of the most highly respected engineers in our industry. Will be missed greatly.
Daniel Vercher
We met at the Men’s Breakfast Ministry through our church, I could tell the first time I met him, that he was a great guy. Very kind hearted and gracious. He raised an amazing son, Mike. He will surely be missed. I pray for peace and comfort for the family during this time.
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