John Pulte

John Earl Pulte, lovingly known as Pops and occasionally Old Goat, was welcomed home to heaven on January 6, 2020. He was 92 years old. He was born on December 31, 1927 in Omaha, Nebraska to Earl and Mildred Pulte. He had one brother, Jim.

John was a WWII Veteran, US Navy. He sailed aboard the USS Oakland and was stationed in the Philippines. Upon the completion of his service, he attended Texas Western, now known as UTEP, graduating with an engineering degree.

While there, he met and married his one true love, Nancy Allison, on April 24, 1954. He won her heart by baking her a cake using a slide rule to convert an 8” pan recipe to a 9”. Leave it to an engineer.

They moved to Midland where he worked as a petroleum engineer for TP Coal and Oil and Midwest Oil. Eventually he formed his own company, Associated Petroleum Consultants. He also worked with Gene Printz under the partnership Pulte & Printz. It became a life-long friendship.

John drug Nancy across the desert oil fields from one hole in the road to another. Along the way, they had 5 children in a little over 6 years. They finally put down roots in Midland where they lived for more than 20 years before retiring to the mountains of Ruidoso. They spent many happy years in Ruidoso before returning to Midland in 2002.

Pops enjoyed playing golf, listening to music, working the stock market and playing cards with family and friends.  He always had a remodel or construction project going and could fix anything.

John was a devout Catholic and instilled a love of God to everyone around him. The family regularly kneeled around the bed praying or saying the rosary. He never missed a mass, even in Ruidoso, where the whole clan would march into church in ski suits and boots before hitting the slopes.

He is survived by his wife, Nancy, his children, Kathy and Mark Swindler of Odessa, Cindy and Karl Brosig of Midland, Christy and Mark Hicks of Highland Village, Jay and Becca Pulte of Frisco, and Allison and Jeff Weiler of Flower Mound, 11 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren.

A memorial mass will be said on Saturday, January 11, at 3pm at St. Stephen’s Catholic Church in Midland, Texas.