Roll Call Tribute

Homer Hale Hershey 

January 2, 1937 - April 2, 2024 

On Tuesday, April 2, 2024, Homer Hale Hershey went home to be with his Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ. Homer was born on January 2, 1937, in Springfield, Colorado to Horace Leroy Hershey and Juanita Turner Hershey. When Homer was very young, the family moved to a farm in Hereford, Texas, where he learned to be a hard worker baling hay and many other farming chores.

After high school graduation in Hereford, Homer attended Texas A&M University where he majored in both Petroleum Engineering and Geological Engineering, receiving degrees in both fields in 1959. He played for the Texas A&M Aggies’ Baseball Team and had dreams of being a big baseball star so that he could buy a beautiful house in town for his mother. However, when rotation time came around and he didn’t make first string, he decided he’d “better hit the books” and become an engineer. He was also a member of the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets and served as the Corps Leader in his senior year. He often credited his military education for building his excellent study habits, which enabled him to graduate first in his class in both fields of study.

Upon graduation from Texas A&M, Shell Oil Company hired him as a petroleum engineer and was content to wait on him for one year so that he could complete his military service at Fort Leonard Wood Army Base in Springfield, Missouri. While at Fort Leonard Wood, he met and married Patricia Greenhagen. They were married for fifty-two years until she passed away on December 23, 2016. Pat and Homer created the James W. “Bill” Amyx Memorial Scholarship, at Texas A & M, in honor of Homer’s favorite professor.

At Shell, he rapidly advanced to senior level management, ultimately becoming Operations Manager of the Coastal Division of Shell Oil in New Orleans. He was with Shell for 20 years, when in 1978 his former manager and colleague, Don Covey, by then President of Mitchell Energy Corporation, recruited Homer and hired him as Senior Vice President of Production and Drilling at Mitchell Energy Corporation (now Devon Oil Corporation). He was with Mitchell Energy from 1978 until 2002, when he retired as CEO. After retirement he worked as a consultant for several other oil companies and served on their boards of directors.

In March of 2020, he married Forea (Rhea) Arnold, who has four children that Homer adored. They, and their children, called him Pop. Homer is survived by his wife, Rhea Hershey, his four stepchildren: Cynthia (Randle) Butler; Sharon (William) Maetschke; Lea Ann Harper (deceased); and William (Sandra) Harper; also many step-grandchildren and step-great-grandchildren. He is also survived by two nephews, Tom (Letha) Hershey, Doug Hershey and children, and two nieces, Lenita (Earl) Unruh, their children and grandchildren, and Patti (Matthew) Bundi and son, all of whom he loved and cherished. His Active Retired Executive Group was a very important part of his life as well as his many dear friends and associates from over the years. Everyone who knew Homer loved him dearly and will greatly miss his kind, considerate, and welcoming spirit.

A visitation for Homer will be held Monday, April 8, 2024 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Forest Park The Woodlands Funeral Home & Cemetery, 18000 Interstate 45 S, The Woodlands, TX 77384. A funeral service will occur Tuesday, April 9, 2024 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM at Our Lady of the Angels Chapel, 8715 Kuykendahl Rd, Spring, TX 77382. A committal service will occur Tuesday, April 9, 2024 from 3:15 PM to 3:30 PM at Forest Park Funeral Home and Cemetery to be immediately followed by a reception from 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM.