EDWARD FABRA HAYE
1929-2019
Edward Fabra Haye; our dear husband, father, grandfather, friend, and juggernaut of a man; died on Tuesday, the 13th of August 2019, from a fall doing what he loved to do – powerwalking in his neighborhood. His repertoire of well-worn jokes and aphorisms, infectious laugh, and self-proclaimed expertise on subjects from religion to politics, and anything in between, have finally been silenced. We miss them desperately. Ed was born the only child to Erich Paul and Martha Fabra Haye in San Antonio on the 22nd of April 1929. He attended McKinley Grade School and Mark Twain Junior High. He frequently credited his hardy immune system to swimming as a child in the San Antonio River just downstream from the zoo. “Germs are my friend,” was a common refrain. Ed attended Central Catholic and Alamo Heights high schools, where he first began to develop the extensive list of lifelong friends, who he continued to insist remain so, despite their misgivings. He briefly enrolled at Trinity University and then transferred to University of Texas in Austin, although he ultimately sent his daughters, Ellen and Paula, to Texas A&M. He graduated in 1951 with a BS degree in Geology.
Ed married Janice Jacqueline Thomas, the love of his life, and fellow UT alum, that same year. He went to work for Standard Oil of Texas, now Chevron. He and Janice moved from San Antonio to Midland, and then to Gainesville, Texas where Ed labored, as he readily admitted, as an undistinguished subsurface geologist doing field development and wellsite geology. Afterwards he was transferred to the gravity meter department in Houston where, again he admitted, oil industry careers, at that time, went to die. Before the inevitable end came to pass, Ed adopted his first child (Ellen), told Chevron to pound hydrocarbon sands, and started his own gravity meter company, Photogravity, in 1959. Just as the adoption agency expressed concerns about his career moves, Ed secured his first contract and Photogravity became financially viable providing photogeologic and gravity services to oil industry customers.
While Ed and company ran gravity surveys in Africa, Canada, and Alaska; he and Janice added daughter, Paula, and son, Bryan, to the family. Not long afterward Ed and a childhood friend built what would become a focal point for Ed’s mission and ministry on earth – the Lake Livingston lake house. Ed was a body in constant motion as he tirelessly worked on cars, golf carts, boats, and whatever else caught his attention in the moment. He implored his ever widening circle of friends to come visit and stay for the tremendous therapeutic benefit. Ed sold Photogravity in 1977 and started Benchmark Exploration, Inc. where he developed and sold oil and gas prospects to the oil industry. Ed and Janice later welcomed inlaws; Jason Doughty (Paula), Charlie Palmer (Bryan), and J Kelly Mowry (Ellen); to their fan base and then five grandchildren; Jake, Eric, and Kyndall to Paula; and Jack and Alex to Ellen.
A celebration of Ed’s life is to be conducted at eleven o’clock in the morning on Saturday, the 17th of August, in the Jasek Chapel of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston. Immediately following, all are invited to greet the family during a reception to be held in the adjacent grand foyer.
The interment service is to be conducted at eleven o’clock in the morning on Sunday, the 18th of August, at Sunset Memorial Park, 1701 Austin Highway in San Antonio.
In lieu of customary remembrances, Ed was a committed crusader against littering and would appreciate nothing more than donations to “Keep Texas Beautiful” in his memory. 8850 Business Park Dr.,
Ste. 200, Austin, TX 78759 (https://www.ktb.org/donate/make-a-donation).
Please visit Mr. Haye’s online memorial tribute at geohlewis.com where words of comfort and condolence may be shared electronically with his family.