Noel Rietman

Noel Dean "Bud" Rietman, died on March 4th in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He was 83.
Born in Amarillo, Texas, on January 6th, 1934, Noel was the beloved son of Elizabeth and Herman Rietman. He grew up on a small farm on the edge of town and graduated from Price College Catholic High School. It was in Amarillo that he met Jeanne, his loving wife of 57 years, and had two daughters, Katie and Julie.
Noel was a distinguished oil industry executive. He earned degrees in petroleum engineering, geology, and mathematics from Texas Tech and West Texas State University. In 1957, he joined Shamrock Exploration Company as a junior engineer, progressed through a number of management levels, and at the time of his retirement in 1995 was Senior Corporate Vice President for Maxus Energy (formerly Diamond Shamrock).
Over the course of his career, he lived in Amarillo, Denver, and Dallas where he and Jeanne met many friends. He was an active member of several professional organizations including the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME), and the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), Noel was active in many capacities and was one of only a few people to serve as both president of AIME (1994) and president of SPE (1987), and was also president of the SPE Foundation and on the board of directors of AIME. In 1979, he was voted the Outstanding Engineer of the Panhandle Chapter of the Texas Society of Professional Engineers. He also contributed to articles published in the Journal of Petroleum Technology and the Oil and Gas Journal.
Noel was a real innovator, particularly in the area of introducing computers to the oil patch. In the early 1970s he was already writing his own computer programs for petroleum engineering applications, something that became mainstream only many years later. One of his greatest legacies was being a mentor to dozens of younger oil field professionals, continually coaching them in his casual style that the organization’s results were best achieved by focusing on the team, not the individual. His philosophy was “We work hard together and we play hard together” (in soccer or other inter-company sport leagues). The success of Noel’s mentoring can be seen in that many of his protégés went on to senior management positions themselves, both in the Diamond Shamrock/Maxus organization and in other companies.
Noel thrived on analysis and problem solving and continued to consult domestically and internationally after retiring from Maxus and moving to Santa Fe in 1999 with Jeanne. In their spare time, they enjoyed many activities together including traveling, the arts, camping with friends and family, and doting on their three grandsons, Grant, Mark, and Luke.
Two of Noel’s hobbies were climbing and running. He loved rocks and mountains and climbed all 53 Fourteeners in Colorado. He skied, ran marathons, and was a quietly but intensely competitive tennis and soccer player.
Everywhere they lived, Noel was an active member of the Catholic church. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus and participated in many parish activities. Above all, Noel was a good man and a devout Catholic who considered his family his greatest accomplishment.
Noel will be remembered most for his generous nature, kindness, good sense of humor and intellectual curiosity.
Noel is survived by his wife, Jeanne; his daughter, Katie Rietman of New York City; his daughter Julie Ballesteros, son-in-law Saul Ballesteros, and grandsons Grant, Mark, and Luke Ballesteros of Westport, Connecticut. He is also survived by his sisters Alice Hadwin of Jacksonville, Florida, and Sarah Stanley of McKinney, Texas, and by many cousins, nieces and nephews. He will be greatly missed by all.
Services will be held on Tuesday, March 14th at 10:00 am at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, with the Rev. Adam Ortega y Ortiz officiating. The visitation and rosary will be held on Monday, March 13th at 6 pm at the Kiva at Rivera Funeral Home, 417 E. Rodeo Rd.
The family would like to thank the staff and volunteers of Ambercare Hospice, who provided skillful and compassionate care for Noel in his last days.
Memorial contributions in may be made to Catholic Relief Services, to the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe, or to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida.