Jean Claude Rande passed away at his home at Pujols sur Ciron, south of Bordeaux, France, on Saturday 29 October evening. While his wife Mary has a deep sense of loss she also has a sense of relief as Jean Claude was suffering from Huntington’s disease, a devastating neurological condition, which had reached an advanced stage.

Rose and I met Mary and Jean Claude when I was assigned to Natal in August 1976, where Jean Claude was the engineer in charge. He was a great guy, intelligent with an enquiring mind, a good sense of humour, and great to be with. He and Mary bought ‘Combelle’ their house on the Ciron close to Sauterne in the region he was raised. On our many visits, he transferred his love of the Sud-Ouest, Bordeaux rouge, and Armagnac to us as I am sure he did to many others.

Jean Claude’s whole career was spent with Schlumberger. He started in Algeria before marrying Mary and transferring to Surenco to work in Peru, Brasil, Argentina. After South America, he worked in Gabon, China, Egypt, Russia, Paris, and finally Houston. A full Schlumberger life.

Jean Claude was very well-liked, and many will have fond memories of him. His funeral will be at the Crematorium de Tonneins this Friday at 1.30 pm.

From John and Rose Pease, who received the very sad news from Jean Claude’s son Roger