Industry icon Frank Forest passes away at 80
Frank (Buddy) Calvin Forest, 80, passed away peacefully with his wife, Dawn, at his side on May 12, 2022. He was born on Dec. 28, 1941, in Liberty, Texas, and was the youngest son of Calvin Bert and Tina Forest.
Frank spent his school years in Richmond-Rosenberg and graduated from Lamar Consolidated High School in 1960. Soon after graduation, he was employed by the railroad service and then served his country in the Army.
After his service, Frank began his career in the oil industry, an opportunity that would take him around the world and offer opportunities never foreseen for a boy from Liberty County.
Facing the economic collapse in the 1980’s, Frank and his partner, Tom Wagner, were determined to overcome every hardship coming their way. They created a company whose philosophy was to ‘share the wealth’ and Sharewell LLC was born. They developed the technology that continues to be used worldwide in horizontal drilling. Frank and Tom named their first prototype of the tool, CHAMP, after their favorite breakfast joint in Houston.
In 1986, Sharewell partnered with Tensor Inc. to solve the problem of magnetic interference while drilling pilot hole bores. This led to the development of a locating system, TruTracker, that provided verification of the calculated magnetic location of the bit using a wire (the coil) placed on the ground surface. This was a pivotal advancement in the HDD industry and has been utilized successfully to complete millions of feet of pilot hole.
In 1993, Frank decided to “retire” and sold his interest in Sharewell, which eventually became Sharewell HDD, to John Teer, Sam Anderson and Todd Caspary. Todd Caspary remains Sharewell HDD’s CEO to this day.
Frank enjoyed sports fishing, real estate investing, and spending time with family in his retirement.
Upon every health issue that Frank was challenged with, he handled with strength and determination. His trait for being ‘hard headed’ served him well.
Many lives have been changed because of Frank’s generosity, advice, and mentorship. He was never afraid to share his opinion using his well-known phrase ‘If I may make a suggestion’. Those ‘suggestions’ have changed the lives of many people.
A memorial service for Frank was held on May 19 at the Davis Greenlawn Funeral Chapel.
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