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Johnny Charles “Buddy” Wachel went home to be with the Lord on June 2, 2022. He was 87. Buddy was born in Arp, Texas, on August 22, 1934, to Martin James Wachel, Sr., and Inez Eschberger Wachel. He grew up in Kilgore and graduated from Leverett’s Chapel High School, where he was a member of the football team and played French horn in the band. He then attended Kilgore College and was elected President of the Engineering Club and President of the Band. He was also a member of the Phi Kappa Theta honor fraternity and graduated as Valedictorian. In 1957, Buddy continued his education at The University of Texas at Austin (UT), which started his lifelong love of the Longhorns and any clothing item available in burnt orange. He earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. During his time at UT, Buddy was awarded the Hughes Tool Company Scholarship and held leadership positions in both Tau Beta Pi and Pi Tau Sigma. He was an active member of the Student Engineering Council, and he was voted President of the Student Chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). He later received the ASME Hugh Scott Cameron Award for “Outstanding Mechanical Engineering Graduate.” Buddy frequently told people that his academic success paled in comparison to the greatest honor of his life: meeting Betty Jean Stone. They were married on February 20, 1960, and had a daughter named Susan. They celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary in 2022. Buddy started his career at Texas Instruments in Dallas, followed by 21 years at Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. During that time, he developed a number of procedures and calculation methods still used in the industry today. His formula for accurately estimating the destabilizing forces in compressors became known as The Wachel Equation and is still part of the API Code. In 1982, Buddy combined his engineering expertise with his entrepreneurial spirit and co-founded a consulting firm called Engineering Dynamics, Inc. He remained President and Manager of Engineering of the company until his retirement in 1997. He traveled all over the world to help solve equipment vibration and pulsation problems, but one of his favorite parts of the job was mentoring young engineering graduates. He was a member of ASME, ASM, and the Vibration Institute, and he published dozens of technical papers throughout his career. In 1985, he was honored with the Eugene Jacobsen Award for the Best Technical Paper for all Petroleum Engineering Conferences and Workshops. Buddy was a guest speaker and instructor at dozens of engineering seminars and conferences around the world. No matter what topic he was presenting, he always started by telling a joke. His sense of humor was legendary, and he never met a pun he didn’t like. Buddy was named a Life Fellow by ASME in 2003; a Distinguished Engineering Graduate from UT’s Cockrell School of Engineering in 2004; and a Distinguished Engineering Graduate from UT’s Mechanical Engineering Department in 2005. Buddy was active in the Baptist Church his entire life and was a proud member of Woodland Baptist Church in San Antonio. He loved studying the Bible and published a number of articles based on his historical research. Besides teaching Sunday School for over 50 years, he also served as a deacon and an usher in the churches he attended. By far, his favorite role was playing Santa for more than a decade at the church’s annual gift-making workshop for children. He loved it as much as the kids did—maybe more. Buddy was a proud member of the Longhorn Foundation and a Lifetime Member of the Texas Exes. His closet reflected that passion with an inordinate amount of burnt orange attire for any occasion. As a loyal fan of UT football, he attended almost every home game from 1957 until 2013. Regardless of the weather conditions, he wanted to be there early to watch the players warm up. And no matter the final score, he always stayed to sing “The Eyes of Texas” at the end. One of his treasured memories came on his 70th birthday when he got to have lunch with former UT football coach and Longhorn legend Darrell Royal. Throughout his life, Buddy loved playing ping pong, softball, and basketball. He even started an intramural sports program when he was working at Southwest Research. His favorite sport, though, was always golf. He played every chance he got and, over the years, he scored three hole-in-ones. And yes, he had his golf cart painted burnt orange. Another highlight for him was gathering every month with lifelong friends to play poker and bridge. Buddy was a wonderful husband to B.J., an amazing father to Susan, a great friend to son-in-law (and fellow Longhorn enthusiast) Chuck, an incredible grandfather to Morgan, and a devoted dog owner to his precious pug Major. Nothing made him happier than driving around the neighborhood in his golf cart with Morgan and Major on board. He genuinely loved people and had a gift for talking to absolutely anyone, anywhere, any time. Buddy is preceded in death by his parents and his brothers, Martin James Wachel, Jr., and Samuel Boyd Wachel. He is survived by his wife B.J. Wachel; daughter Susan Priddy (Chuck); granddaughter Morgan Priddy; countless relatives, friends, and neighbors whom he adored; and all the strangers who instantly loved him after meeting him in an elevator or lobby. The family would like to express sincere gratitude to the incredible staff at Embrace Hospice (Maria, Patrick, Oscar, and Lisa), as well as the loving caretakers at Golden Hearts Senior Living and Amada Senior Care. A celebration of Buddy’s life will be held at Woodland Baptist Church (15315 Huebner Road; San Antonio, TX 78248) on Saturday, July 16, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations in Buddy’s memory can be made to Woodland Baptist Church (woodlandbc.org).

Tributes

Johnny Charles "Buddy" Wachel

August 22, 1934 - June 2, 2022