Worth Pickard, a water well industry pioneer and one of the founders of the South Atlantic Well Drillers Jubilee event, has passed away.
“On behalf of the Jubilee family, I wish to send our heartfelt sympathy and condolences to the family and many friends of Worth Pickard, who went to be with his Lord and Savior on Tuesday, Nov. 17,” said Charles Fallwell, SAWD Jubilee president.
“The water industry owes much to this dedicated man who was one of the founders of our Jubilee and who also served as president of the NGWA, as well as a leader of the NCGWA. I will personally miss him as a friend and mentor.”
Mr. Pickard had a long and distinguished career in the groundwater industry. He began as a driller's helper in 1951, became a partner in Carolina Well & Pump Co. in Sanford, N.C., in 1961, and went on to become sole owner of the company.
“Worth Pickard was always energetic and willing to help out whoever he could, including me," said current NGWA President Richard Thron, MGWC. "He spoke kindly of everyone and treated everyone well. He certainly was a gentleman. He also was a great supporter of NGWA.
It’s a shock to lose a gentleman like that. He was an asset to the profession and Association.”
He was named a Life Member of the National Ground Water Association in 1995. He later received the NGWA’s most prestigious honor, the Ross L. Oliver Award, in 2004. He served as the group's president in 1990 under its former name, the National Water Well Association.
He served on the board of the North Carolina Ground Water Association beginning in 1963, and later two terms as that group's president. The NCGWA has a scholarship in his honor.
The NGWA said in a release that Mr. Pickard's proudest achievement was establishing an NGWA program in 1991 to offer leadership training to young people pursuing careers in the groundwater industry.
Visitation for Mr. Pickard was scheduled for 12:45 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20, 2015, at First Baptist Church, 202 Summit Drive, Sanford, N.C. Services to follow at 2 p.m.
A Masonic graveside ceremony was scheduled for after the service at Buffalo Cemetery, Carthage St., Sanford, N.C.
