Lavonne Tofpi

Funeral service for Lavonne Tofpi will be held at 10:00 am on Monday, April 3, 2023 at First & Georgia Church of Christ. A Wake Service will be at 6:00pm on Sunday, April, 2, 2023 at McRay Funeral Home. Burial will be in the Carnegie Cemetery in Carnegie, OK.

Lavonne was born the daughter of Albert and Pearl Cody on May 1, 1947 in Lawton Indian Hospital. She died on March 30, 2023 in Chickasha while surrounded by her family.

Lavonne attended Alden School from first through eighth grade and graduated from Carnegie High School in 1965.  She met Wilmer Youngblood and was married to him for 30 years.  She attended Caddo-Kiowa Vo-tech taking business courses and received her business certificate and was hired at Lawton Indian Hospital.  She also attended college at USAO studying sociology and Indian Studies.  During the summer months she was a cook for a German Tourist encampment.  When Burton was in Head Start she became an officer for the Caddo-Grady District.  It was during this time that she traveled to New Orleans, Chicago and Jackson, MS where she met Oprah Winfrey.  She loved to crochet but that one string never turned into anything!  No matter how hard she tried, that string wouldn’t turn into a flower, hat or sweater.

Lavonne was preceded in death by her parents Albert and Pearl Cody; son Willmer Lee Youngblood; sisters Flora Bell Tsoodle, Vernola Wolf, Donna Navarro, Christine Cody and Carol Bronaugh; brothers Scott Cody and Spencer Cody; and first husband Wilmer Youngblood.

Lavonne is survived by her husband James Tofpi of Chickasha; daughters Garnita (Tony) Youngblood Capies of Oklahoma City and Melanie (Eric) Youngblood Golightly of Chickasha; son Burton (Tamara) Younblood of Anadarko; 15 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces, nephews and other family.

Sammie Joe Williams

Sammie Joe Williams, 84, of Alex, OK, passed away peacefully after a brief battle with stage 4 lymphoma, in his home with his son and nephew lovingly by his side.  Sammie was a lifelong resident of the Alex community, and his loss will leave a deep void.

Sammie was born the oldest of five children to Glen and Martha Williams in Alex, OK, on June 29, 1938.  He graduated from Alex High School in 1957, where he met the love of his life Wilma Rodgers.  They married on June 11, 1960.  On May 13, 1962, they welcomed their only child, a son, Timothy Jay.

Sammie worked for the Soil Conservation Service for more than 38 years.  His survey team was responsible for many flood control projects on most creeks and tributaries across the entire state.  He was extremely proud of their work and had a story to share when crossing every bridge while traveling with his family.  Sammie’s true passion was on the farm.  Upon retirement and taking over the Rodgers family farm, Sammie “relaxed” by growing wheat and alfalfa and operating an Angus cow/calf herd.  His favorite farm chore was teaching his three grandchildren to drive in the pasture.  Sammie was an avid University of Oklahoma sports fan.  He has been a season ticket holder for football, men’s and women’s basketball, and softball for many years.  He began taking his son to football games in 1972, and that tradition continued until Sammie’s passing.

Sammie was a simple man with an unmistakable laugh.  He was confident, content, at peace with his salvation, and an example to all.  He cherished each day with an appreciation that most ignore.  He found blessings in the simplest and sometimes unusual places.  He loved to mow and wished he could mow the grass year-round.  He loved the smell of a freshly plowed field and how the honeysuckles smelled in the springtime.  He valued friendship and spending time with his domino buddies and their pheasant and elk hunting trips.  Sammie’s greatest blessing was seeing the smiles and hearing the laughter of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren and them calling him Pa-paw.

Sammie was preceded in death by his wife, Wilma; father, Glen; his mother, Martha; brother, Jerry; and sister-in-law, Karen.

His son Timothy Jay of Alex survives him; grandchildren Jayma Lively and husband Sean of Oklahoma City; Jordan McArthur and husband Chris of Oklahoma City; JaCoby Williams and wife Tran of Guthrie.  Great-granddaughters Rowan and Britta of Guthrie.  Daughter-in-law Kelly Williams of Edmond.  Brothers Robert Williams and wife Linda of Alex; Jimmy Williams of Duncan.  Sister Glenda Fenimore and husband Melvin of Blanchard.  Brother -in-law John Rodgers and wife Diana of Chickasha; Sister-in-law Edna McCumber of Wichita. Nephews John Williams, John L. Rodgers, Justin Williams and Chase Rodgers.  Nieces Michelle Green, Jan Pipkin, Jamie Rose, Susan Fenimore, Robyn Williams, Rachel Keever and Kandyce Cudjo.  Beloved German Shorthair “Sport” and many cousins, great-nieces, and nephews.

A memorial/celebration of life will be on Saturday, April 1, at 11:00am at the Alex High School gymnasium.  The family requests that you consider donating to the Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center of OKC instead of flowers.

Viewing will be from 9:00am until 7:00pm Thursday and Friday at McRay Funeral Home.

Keith Douglas “Doug” Hurley

Memorial service for Doug Hurley, 57, will be at 2:00pm, Saturday, March 25, 2023 in the Hampton Inn Conference Room, 3004 S 4th Street, Chickasha, OK.

Keith Douglas Hurley was born April 2, 1965 in Sacramento, California and passed away on March 20, 2023 in Chickasha, Oklahoma.  

Doug resided in Windsor, California until 1972, when his family moved to Chickasha.  Doug went to Friend School and Am-Po School.  In his younger years, Doug enjoyed hunting and frog gigging with his family and riding horses with Circle C Round-Up Club.  He worked in the oil field, as a mechanic and also as a truck driver.  

Doug is survived by his children Felicia Hurley, Camron Hurley, and Savannah Hurley; his grandchildren Jocelynn Jackson, Baylee Peoples, Kaylee Peoples and DreShawn Peoples; parents Keith L. and Joyce Hurley; sister and brother in law Margo and Chris Calhoun. 

Cremation arrangements are with McRay Funeral Home.

Steven Jay Largent

Funeral service for Steven Jay Largent, age 59 of Chickasha, will be at 1:00pm, Friday, March 24, 2023 at First Assembly of God Church in Chickasha.

Steve was born May 10, 1963 in Chickasha and died March 17, 2023 in Chickasha.

Steve attended Ninnekah Public Schools as well as Canadian Valley Technology Center where he obtained his auto mechanic license.  He married Julie Elaine Yates on September 28, 1987.  He worked in the oilfield the majority of his life which he enjoyed.  He loved telling all his oilfield stories and enjoyed joking and cutting up with his hands, but he was always down for business when needed.  He enjoyed working on any motor in his shop–from cars, trucks and semis to tractors–he had a passion for it all.  He took pride in his mechanic work and was very knowledgeable in all aspects of it. In his free time you could find him remodeling something or spending time with his family and friends.  He didn’t know a stranger and took everyone in as family.  He adored spending his time with his grandkids and teaching them anything he could. He was always willing to teach them how to cook, especially his potato soup or the all-time famous stuffing.  In recent years he began teaching his oldest grandsons how to mechanic. He wanted them to gain all his knowledge and passion for building and working on vehicles.  He would constantly praise them.  His grandkids were the light of his life and he would brag any chance he could on any of their accomplishments. He always had an open door for anyone.  He raised many, many kids with his wife Julie and took them as his own, taking on the Dad role for anyone who needed one.  You could find him in the evenings eating sweets, mainly ice cream, with any of the kids he could talk into a treat.

Steve was preceded in death by his wife Julie Largent; both parents Roy and Evelyn Largent; oldest grandson Domineek Newbold; siblings Robert Largent, Allen Largent, Donald Largent, Sherman Largent and Linda Carpenter.

Steve is survived by his siblings Richard Largent and Dorthy Byrum; children Jasper Yates and Christina, Stephanie Largent, Jamie Quillin and Brocke, Steven Largent and Kimberly, ReAnna Carpenter and Brayden and Hennessy Largent; grandkids Dakoda, Destri, Drayedon Newbold, Alicen and Greyson Quillin, Kirsten and Klayten Smith, Chandler Pena; lifelong friend Jimmy Sanders as well as many other nieces, nephews, family and friends.

Interment will be in the Westview Cemetery in Rush Springs, OK under the direction of McRay Funeral Home.

LD Turner

LD Turner was born January 13, 1932 in Tecumseh, Oklahoma to Chesley Arnold Turner and Minnie Viola (Wesson) Turner. He passed away peacefully on March 08, 2023 in Chickasha, Oklahoma at the age of 91.

LD's family lived in Tecumseh, Gracemont, and Binger before he made Chickasha his home. As a young boy, LD helped support his family by working on fields and farms with his parents and siblings. He had two older brothers, Walter and Jack; four older sisters, Odessa, Pearl, Oma, and Betty; and two younger sisters, Bonnie and Georgia. Until the early 1950s, LD would continue working on farms until he began working with his brothers and cousins on carpentry and construction jobs.

On October 25, 1951, LD married Nancy Onnieway Spearman in Chickasha. Married for 71 years, LD and Onnie would have three children: LD Daniel, Nancy, and Kimberly. LD would support his family with his new carpentry skills by starting his own construction business, which he ran until his retirement in 1997.

LD's first construction job was working for Rev. John Taft building houses on what is now Taft Drive in Chickasha. He worked on commercial buildings and residential homes all over Grady county during his career. Even after his retirement, LD was always tinkering on small projects around the house and was always eager to help his family whenever they needed help with home repairs.

LD enjoyed hunting, fishing, camping, and spending time with his family. He had fond memories of deer hunting in Colorado with his brothers, cousins, and son. LD was also an avid fisherman, eager to fish whenever he had free time. He also enjoyed camping with his family, especially at Red Rock Canyon State Park in Hinton, Oklahoma where the Turners would have their annual family reunion.

LD is preceded in death by his parents, Chelsey and Minnie Viola Turner; sisters, Odessa, Pearl, Oma, Betty, and Bonnie; brothers, Walter and Jack; son, LD Daniel II.

LD is survived by his wife, Onnie Turner of Chickasha; daughters, Nancy (Kenny) Ashley and Kimberly Turner; granddaughters, Shannon (Christopher) Hudman, Tisha (Dan) Dye, and Deanna Turner; grandsons, LD (Leeann) Turner III and Joseph Nieto; great-grandsons, T.J. Turner, Michael Moore, Bailey Muschweck, and Nolan Dye; great-granddaughters, Jamie Moore and Katie (Isaiah) Johnson; sister, Georgia.

Arrangements are under the direction of McRay Funeral Home. At the family's request, at this time, there will be no funeral or memorial service. The family would like to express their deepest gratitude to Andrea Roberts of Physician Housecalls and to the staff of LifeLine Home Health & Hospice of Chickasha.

Fern Aileen Allen

Funeral service for Fern Aileen Allen, age 98 of Chickasha will be held at 10:00 am on Saturday, March 11, 2023, at College Heights Baptist Church with burial to follow in Red Hill Cemetery at Hammon, Oklahoma at 3:00 pm.   Viewing will be Thursday and Friday from 9am-7pm at McRay Funeral Home.

Fern was born August 26, 1924, in McClure, Oklahoma.  She died March 3, 2023, in Chickasha, Oklahoma.

Fern graduated as valedictorian from Hammon, OK.  She worked in her dad’s grain elevator as a teenager.  She married James Lewis Allen on Christmas Eve, 1941.  They were married 47 years before he passed away.  During World War II she worked wiring airplanes for the Army Air Corps in California.  After the war she returned to Oklahoma where she worked as a Post Master in Moorewood, Oklahoma as well as helping on the family farm.  She worked in the schools at Gallup, New Mexico as director of lunch programs in Gallup-McKinley County, New Mexico for 15 years.  She moved back to Oklahoma to be close to family and worked as director of special services at Grady Memorial Hospital until she retired in 1988.  She worked as Chairman for many community organizations and was awarded the Chamber of Commerce Volunteer of the Year.  One of the many organizations she worked with was Access Health Care which she helped to organize.  She functioned as their director for over 20 years.  During all this time she was active at College Heights Baptist Church where she also taught Sunday School.

Fern was preceded in death by her parents Houston and Minnie Cope; brother Frances Cope and husband James Lewis Allen.

She is survived by two sons, James Lewis Allen, Jr (Jim) and Nadine, and Larry Frances Allen and wife Joyce of Chickasha, Oklahoma; two sisters, Linda Dodson of Hammon, Oklahoma and Mary Ann Troncole of Bellville, Texas; 16 grandchildren; 16 great grandchildren; five great-great children and a host of family and friends.

Margie Ann Akins

Funeral services for Margie Akins will be held at 2:00pm, Monday, March 6, 2023 at the Northside Church of Christ in Chickasha, OK, with Jim Talbert officiating.  Interment will follow in the Fairlawn Cemetery under the direction of McRay Funeral Home.

Margie Ann Akins, age 39...okay 83, was born in Fort Cobb, OK in 1939 to Ethel Cocheran Akins and Lee Akins.  

Margie was next to the youngest of a family of twelve.  She spent all her years dedicated to her large extended family, especially her nieces and nephews, not having children of her own.  She had this incredible talent of knowing all of her family’s birth dates and names, including all the spouses and children’s names and birth dates.  Her memory was infallible and unbelievable.  She never refused an invitation to attend a holiday event, travel, dine out or shop with her family.  Margie kept a record of all those trips with photos and mementoes which could fill a room or two.  She was a devoted Christian woman, which was her strength when she found herself the last remaining sibling of her much beloved family.  Margie was a long time member of the Church of Christ at 8th and Frisco.  She worked for the Chickasha Public Schools for almost fifty years where she was named the Support Staff of the Year in 2016. 

She was preceded in death by her parents and all her brothers and sisters.

She is survived by two sisters-in-law, Orlin Akins and Shirley Akins, both of Chickasha.

She will be missed by all her nieces, nephews, greats, great-greats and extended family.  The next baby in the family will sorely miss her magic touch and special spoiling.