Lester "Les" Frank Van Dyke

Lester F. Van Dyke (Les) returned to God’s eternal stardust from which he came on December 8, 2024. He was 82 years of age. The family is heartbroken as we say goodbye to our patriarch. Les’ wisdom, creativity, intellect, independence, and most importantly the love he showed us will be greatly missed. Les’ most proud accomplishment was his three children, Debbie, Jennifer and James.

Born in Norman, Oklahoma, on October 17,1942 to Margera Wiles and Howard James Van Dyke, Les was raised in Tulsa by a loving mother and father. He enjoyed an idyllic childhood in a time when TV was in its infancy and the internet did not exist. It was a time when kids organized their own activities and played largely unsupervised among friends, solving their own disputes and learning valuable life lessons along the way.

His father was an avid hunter, fisherman and gardener and passed these loves onto Les. In fact, fishing and hunting were such fond activities for Les, he became a champion skeet shooter, winning the Oklahoma State Championship in the All-Bore E class two years in a row when he was 16 and 17 years old. When he passed away, he still had his first tackle box that he purchased with his own saved money. He also had his first rifle, a single-shot bolt-action Remington .22.

Les attended Franklin Elementary in Tulsa along Route 66, Bell Junior High and Will Rogers High School, from which he graduated in 1960. Les earned a BA degree in Journalism from the University of Tulsa and later obtained an MBA from the University of Houston.

His Journalism degree provided the foundation for a lengthy career in corporate communications. He started his career at The Oil and Gas Journal and was quickly promoted to work in its New York City offices. There, after first serving as Assistant International Editor, he earned a position as OGJ’s youngest Management Editor. He later worked at Texaco Inc. in NYC writing annual reports and speeches for senior company executives.

In 1973, he transferred to Houston to begin his career with Pennzoil. At Pennzoil, he developed an employee magazine, which with the help of an extremely talented staff of designers, photographers and writers, became an international pacesetter.

It was during his time at Pennzoil that he met and married Carolyn Brockhaus, his beloved wife of 46 years, who also worked for the company. In one of those “must be destiny moments” they discovered that though there was a 9 years difference in their ages, they had both been born in Norman, in the same hospital. In addition, they had lived in houses that were next door to each other when very young, though at different times. Also, their parents knew each other.

In 1986, Les joined the newly formed Battle Mountain Gold Company as Director of Investor Relations. When BMG was sold in 2000, he assumed the position of Vice President of Investor Relations with the start-up company, Probex in Dallas. In 2003 he returned to Houston as Director of Investor Relations for Diamond Offshore Drilling Company, where he concluded his career in 2011.

Les liked to say that he never looked back when he retired. While he did miss many of the people and the friendships that he made, his job title was never who he was.

He enjoyed many hobbies and passions. Growing up in a time when rock and roll was new and thrilling, he purchased a 1959 Gretsch Chet Atkins guitar and Fender dual speaker amp with reverb. That led to playing in a rock-and-roll band briefly in high school and college. He loved his cars, from his first Renault 4CV to his last sedan. In his 30’s Les learned to ride dirt bikes with neighborhood friends in the Piney Woods of East Texas. That would lead to what he called a mid-life crisis when he turned 50 and bought a Harley Davidson cruiser. There was also fly fishing, another hobby developed later in life and furniture making, in which he dabbled for a number of years. Golf with buddies occupied him after retirement, as well as pistol shooting with friends at his favorite range, Athena. He was the ultimate card player where competition was never lacking. Les also liked to cook and was largely self-taught; with help from TV cooking shows like Emeril. Thanks to his early years in the yard and garden with his dad, Les was still doing and enjoying his own yard work, with the help of Carolyn, until near the end. Most of all, Les loved spending time with his family, enjoying watching kids activities from gymnastics, to swimming, to hockey.

Les loved to read and enjoyed the feel of a hard-backed book in his hands. His interests ranged from science fiction, to mysteries, to philosophy and religion. Solid in his Christian faith, he particularly enjoyed examining the many different lenses through which God is portrayed as well as questions about the nature of Creation.

In recent years he wrote an autobiography titled “An Ordinary Life Well Lived”. He often said he had no regrets for the things he didn’t do, but like most, a few regrets for things he could have done better or not at all.

Preceded in death by his adoring parents, Margera and Howard Van Dyke, his daughter, Amy, his in-laws who were like parents to him, Nettie and James Brockhaus, and brother-in-law Elvin Long.

Les is survived by his wife, Carolyn, and three children, Debbie Strong and her husband Paul, Jennifer Miller and her husband Jeremy, and James Van Dyke and his wife Kristen. He had 14 grandchildren, Kendall Mandozi and wife Jenna, Zachary and Bennett Wipff; Cade and Brody Maulden; Rocco, Lennon and Sloane Van Dyke; Jacob, Will and Sophie Strong; and Harrison, Carson and Mallory Miller. He is also survived by Becky and Mike Howell and Diana Long, who were the siblings he never had, and many nieces and nephews who thought Uncle Les was “cool”. He leaves behind good, supportive friends and lots of extended family. We will miss his wise advice, both emotional and business, his fabulous cooking, his skills with anything around the house, his love of his hobbies, and just being our rock. We love you with all our hearts, Lester Van Dyke, and will see you in heaven.

A memorial service for Les will be held Saturday, December 14, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. at Chapelwood United Methodist Church, 11140 Greenbay Street, Houston, TX. 77024. The service is available for live stream online at https://vimeo.com/event/4783858/c1a5505cdd

Following the service, a reception luncheon will be held at the church.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Lester’s memory may be made to Chapelwood Methodist Church, The Gathering Place at 11140 Greenbay Street, Houston TX 77024, chapelwood.org or MD Anderson Cancer Center, Pancreatic Cancer Research, PO Box 4486, Houston TX 77210-4486, MDAnderson.org/gifts