Kenneth Lee Ancell

Kenneth Lee Ancell passed away peacefully in his home surrounded by his family on January 5, 2025, at the age of 82. Kenneth was born in Stratton, Colorado, to Guy and Helen Ancell. He was raised in Burlington, Colorado, and graduated from Burlington High School in 1960. Kenneth was an outstanding student and star athlete, captaining the football, basketball and baseball teams to state championships. Kenneth graduated valedictorian from Burlington High School and received a football scholarship to attend Colorado School of Mines. It was in Burlington that Kenneth met Carol Dee Hanna where they attended church and school together since the 1st grade. They became high school sweethearts and were married on August 18, 1963.

Kenneth’s athletic and academic prowess continued at Mines where he earned letters in football, basketball, and baseball all while graduating at the top of his class with a degree in Petroleum Engineering. He excelled on the gridiron receiving many accolades culminating in national recognition including induction into the National Football & College Hall of Fame as a winner of the Blaik Award which is awarded to the nine top scholar athletes in the entire nation. After graduating with honors from Mines, Kenneth began a long and illustrious career as a Petroleum Engineer. His career began with Jersey Research and Development Group (Exxon’s R&D arm) in Tulsa, Oklahoma, before moving to Liberal, Kansas, to work for Panhandle Eastern Pipeline company, where he was later named Chief Engineer. From there, he transferred to Houston and later switched to the consulting side of the oil and gas industry. Kenneth concluded his career as Executive Vice President of Tipperary Corp. where he led the development of a natural gas project in Australia.

Kenneth was a pioneer in the development and implementation of producing natural gas from coal seams. This technology changed the footprint of the natural gas industry in the United States and then the world. He has been published in over a dozen technical articles, helped in the writing of two books, was honored by the Society of Petroleum Engineers as a Distinguished Lecturer, served on multiple boards of directors, and consulted as a Senior Advisor to the United Nations. Kenneth’s career took him all over the world, leading petroleum projects on five of the seven global continents.

Kenneth’s most cherished roles were devoted husband, Dad, and Gramps. He was a church leader and disciple at Fair Haven UMC and a true pillar of his community. He loved coaching his children’s sports teams, attending his grandchildren’s concerts and events, and spending time with family and friends.

Kenneth developed a passion for woodworking and particularly wood carving. In 1994, Kenneth began carving Santas from cypress knees which Carol would then paint. The husband-wife team have carved and painted easily over 1000 of these Santas which they would unveil during a party on the Saturday before Thanksgiving each year. This was a joyous occasion and one of the things Kenneth took a tremendous amount of pride in, ensuring he had at least 40 Santas ready each year.

Kenneth is survived by his wife of 61 years, Carol, son Kevin and wife Lisa, daughter Kristi and husband Patrick, granddaughter Nicole and husband Andres, granddaughter Lauren and husband Carsen, grandson Christopher, and granddaughter Hanna. He is also survived by sister Joyce Brown, sister-in-law Linda Aughenbaugh and husband Jim, and numerous nieces and nephews. Gramps was anticipating the birth of his first great-grandchild.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Guy and Helen Ancell, sister Mary Ann Harrel, and sister-in-law Joan Plauda.

A Celebration of Kenneth’s Life will be held on Saturday, January 25, 2025, at 11:00am at Fair Haven United Methodist Church, 1330 Gessner, Houston, TX 77055. A reception will follow the ceremony.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Fair Haven UMC Memorial Fund in Kenneth’s memory.