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Howard R. Gouker
Longtime Shawnee resident Howard R. Gouker, 73, died Wednesday in a Midwest City hospital.
He was born Sept. 21, 1924, in Blemont, Okla., the son of Curtis A. and Emma (McConnell) Gouker. He attended schools in Prague and Tulsa and married Kathleen Zweifel in Shawnee on Aug. 23, 1948.
He was employed at Sylvania, Jonco and Worthington Pump. He had lived in Shawnee most of his life and was a member of Aydelotte Baptist Church.
Preceding him in death were his parents, 11 brothers and sisters and two grandchildren, Glenn and Kelli Renee Stephens.
Surviving are his wife, Kathleen R. Gouker, of the home; son and daughter-in-law, Fred and Loretta Gouker, Shawnee; daughter, Kathy Stephens, Tulsa; grandchildren, Scott, Greg, and Nick Gouker, all of Shawnee; sister, Letha Taylor, Watsonville, Calif., and many other relatives.
Services will be 10 a.m. Saturday at Roesch-Walker Funeral Chapel with the Rev. Richard Gay officiating. Burial will be in Resthaven Memorial Park. Memorial donations may be made to Aydelotte Baptist Church building fund.
S.E. Denker
S.E. "Red" Denker, 72, Prague, died Thursday in Oklahoma City.
He was born July 22, 1926, in Cheapside, Texas, the son of Fritz and Clara (Withering) Denker. He had moved from Perryton, Texas, to Prague in 1975.
He married Vina Sullivan on May 7, 1950, in Bald Knob, Ark., and was a plant and construction supervisor for GTE, retiring after 37 years of service. He also drove a school bus in Prague for several years.
Denker was a member of the Lutheran Church of Westhoff, Texas; Prague Masonic Lodge 209, McAlester Consistory, a 32nd degree Mason and India Trico clown. He transported children to Shriners Hospital and was a square dance instructor.
Preceding him in death were his parents, two brothers, one sister-in-law, one nephew and one grandson, Robert Denker.
He is survived by his wife, Vina Denker, of the home; son and daughter-in-law, Ricky and Annie Denker, Princeton, Texas; daughter and son-in-law, Lea Ann and Douglas Wilson, Prague; aunt, Virginia Walden, Prague; sisters-in-law, Wanda Fletcher, Prague; Elvie Denker, Gonzales, Texas; Rose Klein, Port Lavaca, Texas, five grandchildren and many others.
Services will be 10 a.m. Saturday at Parks Brothers Funeral Home Chapel in Prague with the Rev. Tim Emmons officiating. Burial will be 4 p.m. at Ridgeview Memorial Park in Allen, Texas. Memorials may be made to Shriners Hospital transportation fund.
Edith B. Burns
Edith B. Burns of Shawnee died Wednesday in an Oklahoma City hospital at the age of 95.
Services will be 10 a.m. Monday at Immanuel Baptist Church with burial in Resthaven Memorial Park. Further arrangements will be announced by Roesch-Walker Funeral Chapel.
Carl J. Lynch
Services for Carl Joseph Lynch, 81, Prague, were held Wednesday. He died Sept. 4 in Oklahoma City.
Surviving relatives included five sisters, including Daphine Joy, Prague; five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Julie Lynn Hurley
Julie Lynn Hurley of Harrah died Tuesday. She was 47.
She was born in Hutchison, Kan., to Robert and Carol Hughes Schemn. She was married to Michael H. Hurley April 17, 1970.
She worked as a neonatal intensive care nurse at Norman Regional Hospital.
She is survived by her husband of 27 years, Michael; two sons and daughters-in-law, Matthew and Tiffany, Pryor, and Patrick and Becky, Harrah; one daughter and her husband, Mandy and Micah Lippered, Tulsa; two sisters, Paula Nailon, Phoenix, Ariz. and Laurie Crowley, Jones; three grandchildren and a host of other family and friends.
There will be a memorial service at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Midwest City Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses. Asa Smith Funeral Service is in charge of arrangements.
Vesta Cox Key
Meeker resident Vesta Cox Key died Monday at a Meeker nursing home. She was 73.
Mrs. Key was born May 17, 1926, in Mena, Ark., to Staley and Vester Price. She married Claude Cox. Following his death, she married Ira Key.
She attended Pleasant Hill and Rock Creek Schools. She had worked as a sales clerk at Sears and was a volunteer for Meals on Wheels. She was a member of Meeker Assembly of God.
Survivors include her husband, Ira Key, of the home; daughter, Vicki Cox Lower, Shawnee; grandson, Chad Lower, Shawnee; brother and sister-in-law, James and Lucille Price, Shawnee; stepson, Charles Key, San Francisco, Calif.; stepdaughter, Mary Leak, Barstow, Calif.; stepsister, Marilyn Hokanson, Washington; and many other relatives.
She also was preceded in death by two sisters, Ann Potter and Irene Wells; and one brother, Oather Price.
Services will be 11 a.m. Saturday at Meeker Assembly of God with the Rev. Charles Pearcy and the Rev. B.E. Potter officiating. Burial will be in New Hope Cemetery, Meeker, under the direction of Roesch-Walker Funeral Chapel.
Audra Seran Grooms
Audra Seran Grooms died Monday in Oklahoma City. She was 30.
Mrs. Grooms was born Dec. 7, 1968, in Tulsa. She was the daughter of Gerald Ellette and Paula Seran.
She married Timothy Dale Grooms May 1, 1992, in Fort Smith, Ark.
She graduated from Okemah High School in 1987. She was a homemaker and mother. She moved from Okemah to Seminole County two months ago.
She was preceded in death by both of her parents.
Survivors include her husband, Timothy Grooms, of the home; daughters, Lauren Seran and Samantha Grooms, both of the home; half sister, Karissa Ellette, Midwest City.
Services will be 2 p.m. Thursday at the Parks Brothers Funeral Home Chapel, Okemah. Burial will be in Highland Cemetery.
Robert Benjamin Leabo
Robert "Bob" Benjamin Leabo died Monday at his home near Meeker. He was 79.
He was born Sept. 27, 1919, in Deepwater, Mo. He was the son Charles Leroy and Victoria (Branstetter) Leabo. He was a resident of the Meeker area for 53 years and a member of the First Baptist Church in Meeker. He was a truck driver for TG&Y for more than 25 years.
He married Betty Ruth Wright June 12, 1946, in Oklahoma City.
He was preceded in death by his parents; four brothers; seven sisters; one son, Charles Edgar Leabo in 1992; and one son-in-law, Jimmy Brasuell in 1994.
Survivors include his wife, Betty Ruth Leabo, of the home; sons and daughters-in-law, Robert Jr. and Ruby Leabo, Chandler, Carl and Debra Leabo, Meeker; daughters and son-in-law, Linda Brasuell, Meeker, Shirley and Leon Hasbell, Shawnee; nine grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; many nieces and nephews; and a host of friends.
Visitation is set for 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. today at the Parks Brothers Funeral Chapel in Meeker.
Services will be 10 a.m. Thursday at the First Baptist Church in Meeker with the Rev. Michael Hamm and the Rev. Dennis Wright officiating. Burial will follow in New Hope Cemetery under the direction of Parks Brothers Funeral Home in Prague.
Densil Sides
Densil Sides died Monday at a local hospital. He was 76.
He was born Aug. 4, 1923, in a half dugout near Mayfield. He was the son of Herman Lee Sides and Mary Catherine Bruner Sides.
His family moved to a farm near Sayre. In the late 1930s, he worked for the WPA quarrying red sandstone and constructing Sayre High School.
During World War II, he was a member of the mortar patrol in the 320th infantry. He fought in northern France and in the Battle of the Bulge as a member of the 3rd Army under Gen. George S. Patton.
After returning from the war, he acquired a bachelor's degree in education from Southwestern State College.
He married Corda Mae Summers of Last Chance July 29, 1949.
After a year at Thomas, they moved to Greely, Colo., where he received a master's degree in education administration from Colorado State University. In the 1950s, he began a career in the insurance business.
After a move to Oklahoma City, he became a claims manager over a three-state region. In 1965, he pursued a doctorate of jurisprudence at the Oklahoma City University Law School, attending night school while continuing full time claims management for Sentry Insurance.
He passed the bar in 1967, and he left the insurance business and began practicing law full time, primarily defending insurance companies and later representing plantiffs.
In July 1994, he acquired 40 acres northeast of Okemah and retired with his wife near where her family's farm once existed.
Survivors include his wife, Corda, of the home; sons, Jim Sides, Oklahoma City, Clint Sides and David Sides, both of Concord, Calif.; brother, John Sides, Sayre; granddaughter and her spouse, Christa Pitman and Dr. Gabriel Pitman, Charleston, S.C.; one great-granddaughter, Grace Pitman, Charleston.S.C.; special niece, Cynthia Dunford, Shawnee; and several other nieces and nephews.
Memorial services will be 11 a.m. Thursday at the Highland Cemetery gazebo. Burial will be at Highland Cemetery under the direction of Parks Brothers Funeral Home, Okemah.
