Billy Frank Mitcham, Sr.

Billy F. Mitcham, Sr. HUNTSVILLE -- Funeral services for Billy F. Mitcham, Sr. will be held Saturday, October 16, 2010 at 11:30 a.m.at The Sam Houston Memorial Funeral Home followed by gravesite rites. His Pastor, the Reverend Reagan Cooksey of Northside Baptist Church will officiate. The family will receive friends Saturday morning beginning at 10:00 a.m. Billy Mitcham, Sr., devoted husband to Lori for more than 40 years, loving father, grandfather, great grandfather and treasured friend to many, passed from this life on October 14, 2010 following a lengthy struggle with cancer. He would have been 83 years old on October 25th. He was preceded in death by his mother, Ouida McMillan Mitcham, his father, Nolan Frank Mitcham, and his son, John. Billy was blessed with a large family and valued the individuality of each and every member. Survivors include his wife, Lori Mitcham, and their blended family of eight children: Billy Jr. & wife Debbie, Donna & husband Archie, Steve & wife Olivia, Gary & wife MiRon, Sherry & husband Rodney, Eddie & wife Debbi, Joy and Paul, along with 21 grandchildren (13 boys - Billy III & wife Helen, Ben, Brandon & wife Denise, Jose, David, Donnie, Garrett, Chase, Grant, Davis, Adam, Colton and Tyler and 10 girls – Candace, Jessica & husband Paul, Courtney & husband Matt, Laurel Beth, Heather, Angelica & husband Anthony, Rachel, Kristen, Kassi, Karmen and Kinzy); 8 great grandchildren (Ethan, Sarah, Sean, Jared, Ashley, Savannah, Ella & Charlotte) and Cousins Monica, Susan & husband Hank and their children, and John & wife Ruth and their children, and Nieces Kay Roth and Suzanne Johnson & husband Larry. Billy, often called Senior by those close to him, built a business with entrepreneurial vision, becoming a legacy in the oil and gas industries. He was born October 25, 1927 in Gurdon, Arkansas and raised in Harlingen and Orange, Texas where he was introduced to a strong work ethic and electronics. He graduated from high school at the age of 16 and began working with his father in the Texas shipyards wiring radar and other instruments on Navy ships. At 17, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served throughout World War II in assignment to an Army Corps of Engineers division in Los Alamos, New Mexico where he worked on the Manhattan Project which was crucial to the U.S. victory over Japan in World War II. In 1947, he received an early discharge and enrolled at the University of Texas where his studies centered around electrical engineering. His prior electrical work on Navy vessels led him to a job in the geophysical industry where he served in various positions of increasing responsibility, both domestically and internationally with Southwestern Industrial Electronics which was later acquired by Dresser Industries, Geo Space and Quantum Electronics. After more than 20 years of travel selling seismic equipment, Billy, along with his wife Lori, started their own business, capitalizing on his vast experience and reputation. With an entrepreneurial vision of leasing seismic equipment, Mitcham Industries opened its doors in a 10’ x 10’ idle bay in a production shop. Soon the fledgling business had grown to its own 5,000 square foot rented facility and in 1981 to its present 25,000 square foot headquarters south of Huntsville where it grew to become the world’s leading independent lessor of geophysical equipment to the oil and gas industry. The family extends special thanks to: Dr. Papadoupoulos and Farida Sakhyani, RN, at the Melanoma Clinic at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston; Dr. Ali Akbar Bhuriwala of Conroe Regional Hospital; Dr. David Ficklen and his entire staff at Turtle Creek Medical Center in Huntsville; and the Third Floor Nursing Staff at Huntsville Memorial Hospital, Odyssey Hospice Care, along with our friend Daisy. In lieu of flowers, the family requests any memorial condolences be made to either the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center or the SEG Foundation in honor of Billy’s 50-year membership to the Society of Exploration Geophysicists. M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Attention: Melonoma Center PO Box 4486 Houston, TX 77210 In memory of Billy F. Mitcham SEG Foundation Billy F. Mitcham, Sr. Memorial Scholarship 8801 S Yale, Ste. 500 Tulsa, OK 74137 Those wishing to leave memorial condolences for the family may do so at www.shmfh.com

Billy Frank Mitcham, Sr.

October 25, 1927 - October 16, 2010