Interviewer: Jacob Campbell

Affiliation: University of Arizona

Mr. Kelly was referred by John Monteiro, who had hired Mr. Kelly to work for him briefly in the mid 80s. He has wide ranging experience in construction, operations and sales with numerous sectors of the oil industry. As a result, he knows many of the contractors and service companies that have risen up in Houma since the 1960s. Mr. Kelly provided insightful comments on the transitions in the industry through his career. His wife joined us for segments of the interview, and makes several comments. We met at their home on El Paso Drive in Houma.

Mr. Kelly was born in Ada, OK, in 1930. His father worked for Kerr-McGee and therefore John was familiar with the oil industry from a young age. He was married in 1950, then went to Korea in the Marines. Upon his return in 1952, he began working for Associated Rentals, which serviced the oilfield of the Louisiana coast. He then took a sales and operations job with Drilling Tools Co. based in Lafayette in 1957. He moved to Houma in 1959 to work for Delta Ironworks, in fabrication and construction. In the early 70s he took a job with Luke Construction, laying pipeline and constructing offshore facilities. Luke went bankrupt in the early 80s, and Mr. Kelly worked for John Monteiro and finally the Dupres Brothers, in operations and sales before retiring.