obituarY
Rickey Dean Bird Sr. was born on December 31, 1961 in Guymon, OK to Rosa Lee Scott and Tommy Dean Bird. He was the oldest of two other brothers Calvin Foster and Leslie Scott Bird. His mother married Bill Foster and he then acquired two more siblings, Dorthea Foster and William Foster. Rosa Lee and Bill Foster gave birth to his half-sister Tracey Foster-Sontag. His father married Bernice Goodman and they gave birth to his two half brothers Tommy Dean Bird and Timothy Hal Bird. Raised in Oklahoma, Rickey moved to Bakersfield, CA in the late 70s and started his oilfield career as a roughneck shortly after. He loved country music. If he wasn't working on a drilling rig he was writing country songs. He then had his first son Rickey Dean Bird Jr. He started moving up the ranks quickly on the drilling rig. In a short amount of time, he became one of the youngest toolpushers in the field. He then had another son Bryce Timothy William Bird and a couple of years later had another son Tate Jordan Lage-Bird. When the oilfields were down Rickey moved out to Las Vegas, NV to become a plumber. The venture was short-lived as he lived and breathed the oil fields. He moved back to Bakersfield, rose through the ranks, and eventually became a Drill Site Manager or as we know it, a company man. Without even finishing high school he was able to accomplish so much and help so many other people. He eventually became a consultant. If Rickey didn't know something, he would figure it out. From pulling stuck pipe free to sealing up the volcano at 1-Y. His skill on a rig knew no bounds. Neither did his stubbornness. His first grandson Rickey Dean Bird 3 was born and a year later his youngest son Willie Jackson Bird was born. He loved his boys and his family. He would often take deep-sea fishing trips or camp at the lake for days. His family was important to him and so were his friends and co-workers. After his granddaughter, Mychael Elizabeth Bird was born he recorded two of his country songs IMPACT and the hilarious Moo-Moo. His favorites. Rickey also liked to race cars. His car number 23 raced for autism at Kern County RaceWay Park. His last grandsons were Zayden Lage and Zeke Lage. He was able to meet his last granddaughter Rifle Bird. His legacy in the oil and gas industry will never be forgotten.
