Gaylon Kent Nixon

Gaylon Kent Nixon was born December 22, 1937 in Fort Scott, KS to Merwin & Virginia Nixon and died December 21, 2023 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He is survived by his wife, Mary, his two sons, Robert and David, five grandchildren and his sister, Janice Smith. He is preceded in death by his three brothers, Donald, Jerry and Richard Nixon. He attended 2nd through 8th grade in a one-room school house in Eureka, KS. A formative time for him was when his older brother, Don, contracted Polio. Gaylon had participated in multiple high school sports but quit when he took on the responsibilities of his brother’s chores in addition to his own on the family farm. Many times he also handled his father’s farm work so that his parents could take his brother to distant therapeutic appointments.

He graduated from Eureka High School in Eureka, Kansas, and then attended Kansas State University. After KSU, he joined the United States Air Force in 1956. One evening, while stationed at Goose Bay Labrador, following a Christmas performance of The Messiah and while gazing at the Northern Lights in the night sky, he professed his faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (1957). Gaylon asked for God’s direction in finding a godly wife, and while attending night classes at Indiana University Extension at Kokomo, he met Mary in 1959. He purchased a wedding ring after two or three dates and spent the next four years convincing her to agree to wear it. After a lengthy courtship, he married Mary Mildred Shenk on December 29, 1963. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from Purdue University in Indianapolis, IN on May 19, 1974.

Another life-altering event was Gaylon’s severe motorcycle accident at the age of twenty-five. He was hospitalized for many months and his left lower leg bones and ankle were fused. As a result of years of persistent infection, his lower leg was amputated in 1995. Gaylon knew a life of pain that continued until his death, but he continued to find joy in serving God by ministering to people.

He worked for General Motors as an electrical engineer, founded and ran an independent roofing business, invested in real estate, and retired from Tinker Air Force Base as an electrical engineer. He enjoyed working on cars; building models; traveling with his wife; visiting Branson, MO; attending professional musical productions of various genres, listening to Gaither gospel music and Chet Atkins; and watching ball games and movies with his sons and grandchildren.

He was a man of faith and was active in a variety of ways through the Methodist church and many organizations. He shared the gospel and ministered through the years by serving on several Lay Witness mission trips, and by leading and participating in Bible Study Fellowship, Celebrate Recovery and The Gideons International. Gaylon is loved by many and will be remembered for his strength through trials, his legacy of faith in God, his love of family, and his servant’s heart.