Kermont Burdell Mickelson's Obituary
Mr. Kermont Mickelson was born to Clara and Alfred Mickelson in Finley, ND. Throughout his life he enjoyed hunting, fishing, camping, gardening, woodworking, expanding his knowledge base, and spending time with family. In high school and college he worked after school and during the summers for the North Dakota state highway department. He graduated as Valedictorian in 1946 from Finley High School and obtained his B.S. in Geology in 1950 from the University of North Dakota. He served two years in the Army as an instructor of Photogrammetry in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. While serving there he met Signe Harden and they were married on Feb. 14, 1952 at Luther Place Memorial Church in Washington, D.C. Upon honorable discharge from the Army, he worked two and a half years on a Cities Service seismic crew in West Texas before joining Texas Pacific Coal and Oil as a Geophysicist in Fort Worth. In early 1957 he was transferred to Denver as District Geophysicist and remained there until he resigned to join Pure Oil in January 1964 in Durango, CO. In 1965 he joined Petty Geophysical Engineering Company as Personnel Manger in San Antonio and was promoted to Vice President of Personnel in 1967. He moved to Houston in 1973 as the Vice President-Industrial Relations with Petty Ray Geophysical. In 1975 in order to return to Geophysics, he joined Lone Star Gas (later known as Enserch Exploration) in Dallas as Chief Geophysicist US Exploration Division and was promoted to Director of Exploration Operation in 1978. He retired in 1989 which allowed him to pursue his passions of woodworking, genealogy research, and traveling with his wife. With each of his many moves he faithfully sang in the church choir, taught adult Sunday School and participated in church leadership. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Signe Mickelson; his four children, Sonja (Mark) Mathisen, Kent Mickelson, Karen (Lee) Meador, Sandra (Edlyn) Vatthauer, seven grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. He was a devoted husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather who was beloved by all and will be greatly missed. He was preceded in death by his parents, Clara and Alfred Mickelson and his brothers, Arnold and Dennis Mickelson. A Memorial Service will be held at 11:00 am on Saturday, November 7, 2015 at Bethany Lutheran Church, 10101 Walnut Hill Lane, Dallas, TX. Inurnment will take place at 3:00 pm on Friday, November 6, 2015 at DFW National Cemetery. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Restland Funeral Home and Memorial Park, 13005 Greenville Avenue, Dallas, TX 75243. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Bethany Lutheran Church or C.C. Young Benevolence Foundation.
What’s your fondest memory of Kermont?
What’s a lesson you learned from Kermont?
Share a story where Kermont's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Kermont you’ll never forget.
How did Kermont make you smile?