Jamie Bryant Terrell

Jamie Bryant Terrell, a retired electrical engineer for Halliburton Energy Services, passed away peacefully in his sleep at home on June 12. He was 96 years old. His funeral will be held at Skyvue Funeral Home in Mansfield.

Jamie was born on January 24, 1930, at his family farm northeast of Gonzales, Texas, to his parents, William and Iona Terrell. Jamie was the only boy among five children. In 1955, Jamiemarried Mary Frances Bailey. They were together for 15 years and had six children: Mary Meda, who passed away at two years old; Dr. Ruth Harvey; Mary Horvath; Jamie Terrell II; Meda Russell; and Patricia Terrell. The couple divorced in 1968.

In 1983, Jamie married Donna Kay Pratt. They were preparing to celebrate their 43rd wedding anniversary this week and have one son, Jesse Terrell.

As a boy, Jamie would go with his mother to the Methodist church on Sundays, and on Saturdays would attend cooking classes with her. There, he developed a love of cooking and baking. He enjoyed church camp in the summers and the fellowship of the Boy Scouts. Jamie also enjoyed building and fixing things around the farm. He was on the boxing team in high school and played football until he injured his hand. He was an editor of school newspaper, the “Pow Wow”, which was named by him.

In 1948, Jamie graduated from Gonzales High School. He then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he graduated in 1954 with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. In college, he was on the diving team and worked as a photographer for the college newspaper. During the school year, he waited tables at the boarding house where he stayed in Austin, and in the summers, he worked as a roughneck on oil rigs in Louisiana.

After graduating from college, Jamie joined Bell Aircraft in Fort Worth, Texas. He was sent to Niagara Falls, New York, to attend a training school, and it was there that he met Mary Frances Bailey. They married soon after and lived in Fort Worth. During his tenure at Bell Aircraft, he made notable contributions to the HSL-1 helicopter development, one of the first tandem rotor helicopters. After narrowly avoiding a deadly test flight, Jamie left Bell Helicopter to join Convair/General Dynamics. There, he performed statistical analysis for a Mars mission project, was a key designer of the autopilot system for the B-58 Hustler supersonic strategic bomber and contributed to the design of the F-111 Aardvark. He continued his education at Southern Methodist University in Dallas and earned a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering in 1965. In 1966, he passed the Texas Board of Professional Engineers, and in 2017 he was recognized for 50 years of licensure.

In 1971, General Dynamics was sending Jamie’s department to California, but to avoid being relocated, he made the decision to stay in Fort Worth with his home and children. He found employment with Gearhart-Owen/Halliburton, an oil well service company. During his employment with the company, he was awarded 15 different patented innovations in oil-field service tools, including the chemical cutter, through-tubing bridge plug, the “wagon-wheel” cutter, and a downhole well tool and anchoring assembly. 

In 1993, he and his wife relocated to Rendon, Texas, where they built their dream home and life together. Jamie had a passion for woodworking, farming, and construction. He was an avid farmer who enjoyed planting fruit and nut trees.

Jamie was a devout Christian who always put his children first. People have referred to him as a man as sturdy as the large pecan trees he planted over 30 years ago.

He was preceded in death by his parents, William Bryant Terrell and Iona Fogel Terrell; his daughter, Mary Meda Terrell; and his siblings, Gwendolyn Koerner, Janet Selman, Shirley French, and Peggy Thompson. He is survived by his wife, Donna Terrell; his children, Dr. Ruth Harvey, Mary Horvath, Jamie Bryant Terrell II, Meda Russell, Patricia Terrell, and Jesse Terrell; 11 grandchildren; and 11great-grandchildren. He will be truly missed.