Dan Etter, 61, of Thrall, passed away February 3, 2024, after a brief illness, leaving behind a legacy of self-made success laced with incredible humor, love and good, old-fashioned can-do attitude.
Born February 12, 1962 in Weslaco, Texas, deep in the Rio Grande Valley to parents Margaret and Freddie, Dan’s family spent his earliest years following the crops from South Texas in the winter, to northern states like Illinois, Indiana and Ohio in the summer. Because of his father’s work as an inspector in the produce industry, the family settled down in Houston during Dan’s first few years in school, latter transferring to the Dallas area, where Dan attended 4th grade onward.
The family split due to divorce and both parents remarried, but the one constant in young Dan’s life was the allure of the outdoors. especially fishing with his father, first on Lake Houston and later, Lake Palestine, as well as camping and hunting on his maternal grandfather’s ranchland outside of Taylor, Texas. “I always said that when I could choose wherever I wanted to live,” Dan recalled, “it would be in the country.”
Dan graduated Irving High School in 1981 – his first jobs were influenced by both fathers: initially, working at a produce house, followed by an assignment in the world of offshore oil & gas, like his stepfather. That entry-level job as a ‘roustabout’ scrubbing decks and the like, evolved over the next 40-plus years, as Dan worked his way upward in the midstream and upstream sectors of the energy industry, both onshore and offshore, in the U.S. and abroad. Entry-level positions eventually transitioned toward a more specialized direction within the instrumentation and electrical end of the oil & gas business.
Dan often began in a technical area but his talents as a learner and leader inevitably moved him into managerial roles. Never content with repeatedly doing the same ol’ job, his varied career included positions as an electrician, maintenance technician, field service engineer, instrumentation and electrical construction superintendent, controls system specialist, instrument and electrical designer, production supervisor and operations supervisor.
Numerous companies were graced by Dan Etter’s presence on their payrolls or as a contractor, including Moore Control Systems; Baker Energy Services; Schlumberger; Penzoil; Petrotech; Sun Exploration & Production and others. In fact, Dan worked as a contractor for just about every major oil company, including Arco, Exxon Mobile, Shell and several stints with Chevron.
His career took him all over the U.S., and to far-off locales such as Thailand, Nigeria in West Africa, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, southern Africa, Australia, Guatemala, Mexico and Curacao. Because travel was always one of Dan’s greatest interests, he utilized his various career activities as a conduit to adventures worldwide. There was a dove hunt in Argentina, and numerous antelope hunts in South Africa and for an avid outdoorsman like Dan, these were, indeed, trips of a lifetime.
Yet, he always came back to the old ranch property in Central Texas, rolling grassy countryside where the kid from suburbia saw his first armadillo. It became Dan’s home in the country, just like he always wanted. Along the way, he met a tall blond beauty from Dallas on a blind date, and the rest is history, as the saying goes: Melanie Ingram and Dan Etter married and have been partners in life and love for more than three decades. He and Melanie raised cattle, owned horses, had numerous beloved dogs, and enjoyed many a sunrise and sunset from their ranch, generously sharing their bluebonnet pastures each springtime with anyone who wanted to visit and take photos.
Preceded in death by his parents, Margaret Alice Caldwell, Freddie William Etter and Bill Caldwell Sr., and one brother, Kelly Caldwell, Dan is survived by his wife of 38 years, Melanie Ingram Etter; siblings Caroline Estes, Bill Caldwell Jr., Lonnie Caldwell, Ty Caldwell, Crista Harrison and Jared Brown; and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.
Services will be 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 9 at Condra Funeral Home, 503 Talbot St. in Taylor, followed by interment at Lawrence Chapel Cemetery. Pallbearers are Jered Brown, Pat Schmidt, Jae Moore, Rick Stewart, Cameron Boyd and Fernando Valladares, and honorary pallbearer, Kevin Puckett.
Memorial donations may be made to Lawrence Chapel Cemetery Assoc., c/of Kim Miller, 109 Sentry Point Hutto TX 78634, or to the City of Taylor Animal Shelter, 701 E. 4th St. Taylor TX 76574.
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The boss of wherever he stood, Dan Etter was a true, original Texan - a gentleman, a rancher, an avid outdoorsman and a scholar of life. His impact on his loved ones, co-workers, friends and their families is forever beyond measure.
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