Published: February 05, 2007 09:59 am            

Obituaries, Feb. 4

Velma Lee Campbell

Velma Lee Campbell, 79, passed away Jan. 27, 2007. Graveside services were held Wednesday at Sunny Lane Cemetery. Services were under the direction of Bill Eisenhour S.E. A lifelong Oklahoma resident, she was employed at Unit Parts, retiring in 1992. Campbell enjoyed talking to family on the phone, children, watching TV news shows, helping people and growing rose bushes and tomato plants. She is survived by a son, James Campbell of Del City; a brother, Charles Glen Gee of Oklahoma City; and two sisters, Mary McGuiness of Prague, and Jackie Reeves of Bremerton, Wash. She was preceded in death by her parents, Charlie and Myrtle Gee; and two brothers, Louis Gee and Buck Gee.



Charles Leon “Lee” Garrett

Charles Leon “Lee” Garrett, 70, of Shawnee, was born Aug. 12, 1936, in Shady Point, the son of W.P. and Willie Edith (Bechtold) Garrett. He passed away Jan. 28, 2007, in Oklahoma City. Graveside services were held Wednesday at Dale Cemetery. Services were under the direction of Smith-Parks Funeral Service in Harrah. A guest book is at www.smithparks.com. He was a retired painter. He was preceded in death his parents; his wife, Virginia “Lucy” Garrett; a daughter, Donna Garrett; two sisters, Ernestine Harris and Peggy Harris; and a brother, Olen Garrett. He is survived by a daughter, Janis McAllister and Bill of Oklahoma City; four grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; five sisters, Joe McDonald of Ada, Betty Faulker of Tulsa, Barbara White of Tulsa, Lois McFadden of Tulsa, and Alice Golf of Poteau; and a brother, Billie Garrett of Oklahoma City.



Betty Joyce Hawkins

Betty Joyce Hawkins, 67, of Jones, passed away Jan. 29, 2007. Services were held Friday at Bill Eisenhour N.E. Chapel. Burial took place at Arlington Memory Gardens. Betty was born Nov. 22, 1939, in Tuskahoma. She attended the Bible Baptist Church of Nicoma Park and was a member of the cat club of the Humane Society. She is survived by a daughter, Charolette Proffit and husband Kenneth of Leady; two sons, John Hawkins and wife Eileen of North Carolina, and Sammy Hawkins and wife Teresa of Luther; nine grandchildren; a great-grandson; five brothers, George, Mickey, Bill, Lester and Joe; three sisters, Linda Askins, Mary Kearby and Jane Jiles; and many nieces, nephews and friends and family. She was preceded in death by her husband, Russell, in 1997 and her parents.



Nell T. Kirker

Nell T. Kirker, 85, passed away Jan. 29, 2007. Funeral services were held Friday at the Wesley United Methodist Church. Burial followed at Arlington Memory Gardens. Services were under the direction of Paylor Funeral Home. She was born Oct. 18, 1921, in Franks, to John James and Mary Alice Rowlett Townsend. She lived in Midwest City since 1942. She was a secretary at Tinker Air Force Base for 37 years and retired in 1979. She was a member of the Wesley United Methodist Church. Nell was preceded in death by her parents; four brothers, Harold, Virgil, Bill and Beecher; and two sisters, Lynette and Juanita. She is survived by her husband, Richard “Dick” Kirker, of the home; sisters, Joanne Olberding of Plano, Texas, and Doris Deitch and husband John of Johnstown, N.Y.; close friend, Sharon Lewis; and several nieces and nephews.



H.O. Bussey

H. O. Bussey, 89, passed away Jan. 30, 2007. Funeral services were held Friday at Bill Eisenhour Southeast Chapel. Burial took place at Arlington Memory Gardens. Services were under the direction of Bill Eisenhour S.E. He was born Dec. 19, 1917, in Maud, to John and Mary Bussey. His life work and hobby was jukeboxes. He worked for Culp Distributing. He is survived by a son, John Bussey and wife Deborah of Odessa, Fla.; two grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Dorothy; a son, Bill; a daughter, Barbara; his parents; a brother, Harold; and a sister.



Sonja Edelgaard Lesko

Sonja Edelgaard Lesko, 86, passed away Jan. 30, 2007, after a struggle with Alzheimer’s and heart disease. Services were held Friday at Arlington Memory Gardens. Services were under the direction of Ford Funeral Service. She was born June 23, 1920, in Munchen-Gladbach, Germany, to Ellen Rosewick and Norbert Kneer. During Hitler’s reign, everyone had to select a survival skill — she chose knitting and honed her craft to perfection. She attended school in Cilicia, followed by college in Italy at the University of Perugia for a semester to study Italian. She attended Heidelberg University, where she mastered four languages prior to graduation in 1945. She began working as a translator for the U.S. government in 1945, when they took over I.G. Farben, a chemical company in Frankfurt, Germany. The government went to Heidelberg to procure college graduates to translate many of Hitler’s documents found in the ruins of Koenigstein Castle not far from Frankfurt. She soon married her supervisor, Stephen H. Lesko, on Nov. 5, 1955, and after living in Frankfurt, Germany; Morocco, North Africa and Vicenza, Italy, they moved to Rome, N.Y. She settled into becoming a mother and homemaker and became a master seamstress electing to sew for family and friends throughout her years. She was preceded in death by her parents and husband. She is survived by her sister, Dagmar Kneer of Bad Vilbel, Germany; a daughter, Julie Lesko-Bishop and companion Dennis Farber; two granddaughters of Midwest City; a former son-in-law, Rick Bishop of Edmond; and extended family in Germany. The family requests in lieu of flowers, to consider a donation to Free To Live or a charity of your choice.



William Ted Griffin

William Ted Griffin, 83, of Midwest City, passed away Jan. 31, 2007. Funeral services were held Saturday at Faith Community Church in Whitefield. Burial took place at Mountain Home Cemetery on Beaver Mountain. Services were under the direction of Mallory-Martin Funeral Home in Stigler. He was born March 27, 1923, in Dongola, Ark., to William and Mary Owens Griffin. He moved to Oklahoma at an early age and lived in Bethany. He was a star baseball and basketball player for the Bethany High School Broncos and for OSU Technical College. In August 1942, he joined the U.S. Army Air Force and served in the China-Burma-India Theatre during World War II until his discharge in February 1946. A lifetime member of the Disabled American Veterans, the American Legion and the VFW, he married Dortha McKibben June 11, 1949. During the 1960’s, he coached little league baseball games for the Willow Brook Cardinals with Dortha by his side as scorekeeper. He worked for 30 years at the Veterans Administration Hospital. After retirement, he moved to a farm on Beaver Mountain to enjoy country life for 20 years, until he recently moved back to Midwest City. He was a master woodcrafter, lover of animals and friend to all. He is survived by his wife, Dortha; four children, Lawanna Pitts and husband Larry, Deborah Perkins and husband Philip, Steve Griffin and wife Andrea and Dana Holland and husband Mark; six grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren; and a future great-granddaughter, Emma Grace, who will arrive in April; many cousins; lifelong best friend Howard Snell; and many brothers-in-law, sisters-in law, nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; and sister, Mattie Griffin. The family would like to thank the ICU staff at MRMC, the staff at Manor Care of Midwest City and Heartland Hospice for their compassionate and tender care.



Clara Opal Elkins

Clara Opal Elkins, 78, passed away Jan. 28, 2007. Funeral services were held Friday at Bill Eisenhour Southeast Chapel. Burial took place at Arlington Memory Gardens. Services were under the direction of Bill Eisenhour S.E. She was preceded in death by her husband, Paul J. (PJ) Elkins; and son, Steven Dale Elkins. She is survived by a daughter, Sharron Kay Billingsley; a son, Paul David Elkins; a son-in-law, Curtis R. Billingsley; two daughters-in-law, Melody Elkins and Lisa Elkins; eight grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; and many additional family members.

        

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