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Friday, November 13, 2026Nov 13

Short portraits of 11 who died on the Deepwater Horizon

This undated photo provided by Shelley Anderson shows her with her husband, Jason, and their daughter, Lacy. Jason was killed in the April 20, 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion. Five years after his death, Shelley still sometimes slips into the present tense when speaking of her husband, Jason. "He's the most amazing person in the whole world," she says of the man who lured her out on her first date with roses and candy, then sealed the deal with raw oysters and chocolate-covered strawberries. "He's my life." (Courtesy of Shelley Anderson via AP)
This undated photo provided by Shelley Anderson shows her with her husband, Jason, and their daughter, Lacy. Jason was killed in the April 20, 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion. Five years after his death, Shelley still sometimes slips into the present tense when speaking of her husband, Jason. "He's the most amazing person in the whole world," she says of the man who lured her out on her first date with roses and candy, then sealed the deal with raw oysters and chocolate-covered strawberries. "He's my life." (Courtesy of Shelley Anderson via AP) This undated photo provided by Shelley Anderson shows her with her husband, Jason, and their daughter, Lacy. Jason was killed in the April 20, 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion. Five years after his death, Shelley still sometimes slips into the present tense when speaking of her husband, Jason. "He's the most amazing person in the whole world," she says of the man who lured her out on her first date with roses and candy, then sealed the deal with raw oysters and chocolate-covered strawberries. "He's my life." (Courtesy of Shelley Anderson via AP)

Portraits of the 11 who died on the Deepwater Horizon:

Jason Anderson, 35, Midfield, Texas.

Jason Anderson wasn’t even supposed to be on the Deepwater Horizon that day. Anderson had been with the rig since it launched from a South Korean shipyard in 2001. By 2010, the Bay City, Texas, man had risen to senior tool pusher, akin to a foreman on a construction site.

Anderson was transferring to another rig, and went out to the Deepwater Horizon to train his replacement, says his widow, Shelley. When he arrived, the trainee wasn’t there, but Jason stayed over to clean out his locker and spend just a little more time with his “rig brothers.”

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