John S. Deaton

He was preceded in death by his parents and his grandparents, Sid and Ruth Christner. His survivors include daughter, Alexandra Deaton of Austin, TX; and her mother, Jennifer Greer of Panama City, FL; brother, James Deaton and wife Susan of Phoenix, AZ; sister, Sharon Knight and husband Fred of Piedmont; and sister, Harolyn Coker and husband Cid of Edmond. Also, his stepchildren: Bill, David, Tamatha and Tabitha Hutchins, as well as nieces, nephews, numerous family members and many friends.

John lived most of his adult life in Eatonton, GA, where he managed shipping and receiving for two large lumber companies. After becoming ill, he returned to Oklahoma in 2005.

Funeral services will be at 10 a.m., Wednesday, Dec. 8, at Baggerley Funeral Home Chapel, with burial to follow at Christner Family Cemetery, northwest of Edmond.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Piedmont Service Center, PO Box 205, Piedmont 73078.

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It was a joyous day for John and Beryl Deaton when, on October 27, 1949, their lives took on even greater meaning with the arrival of a fourth child, a boy they named John after his father and Sidney after his maternal grandfather. After surviving five years of various pampering and torture by his older siblings, Jim, Harolyn and Sharon, Johnny, as he was commonly known, began his formal education in the Deer Creek school system.

His was mostly a usual boyhood until the winter of 1960. Not to be outdone by his brother who had undergone the experience three and a half weeks earlier, Johnny underwent open heart surgery to correct a congenital heart condition. Mended, recovered, and ready to go, he returned to school flaunting the long scar where his sternum had been severed for the surgery.

Birthday parties, bruises and scrapes from life on the farm with those same torturous siblings continued on a more or less typical path. Growing up included a lot of good times with cousins Ellen, Herb, Ruth, and later arrival Kenny, and their parents, Aunt Bessie and Uncle Allen Kordis, as well as Gary, Sue, Tommy, then Rocky, and their parents Aunt Betty and Uncle G.C Hopper. Then Jim went off to college; Harolyn graduated Deer Creek High a couple of years later; followed by Sharon’s graduation two more years after that. In 1967 John moved with his parents to Edmond where he was graduated with the Edmond High School class of 1969.

Odd jobs, then working for the City of Edmond, added to his growth and experiences until the Fall of 1972 when he became acquainted with Jennifer Hutchins, a divorced mother with four children, two sons, Bill and David, and twin daughters, Tammy and Tabby. “Have no fear” John didn’t let that daunt his amorous intentions and he and Jennifer were married in 1973. A little later they moved to the Atlanta, Georgia area, then on down to Eatonton, where John lived until his return to Oklahoma in July, 2005, after becoming ill with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. John’s and Jennifer’s union resulted in the light of John’s life arriving on November 11, 1980 – they named her Alexandra. Jennifer and John were divorced in 1985, but John always maintained a great relationship with Jennifer and her children, and never failed to be available to help no matter the circumstances.

Those years meant less frequent visits between Johnny and his siblings. His life was focused mostly on his daughter, Alex and the pride he gained from her accomplishments and his work with Louisiana-Pacific and its successor, Rayonier Lumber and Wood Product Manufacturers where he managed receiving and the shipping of millions of feet of lumber milled at the plant outside of Eatonton. John popped his buttons more than once from the achievements of Alex, including her graduation at the top of her Putnam County High School class, and her subsequent graduation with honors from Georgia Southern University. John and Jennifer decided to make another go at marriage in 1992, followed by the decision two years later that their very best relationship was not as spouses but as great friends.

When Harolyn, Sharon, Fred, Susan, Jim, and their son-in-law Allen moved John from Georgia, Sharon and Fred gave him use of their farm home from which they had moved, then later to a home in Piedmont they purchased so John could be comfortable after the farm was sold. Fred and Sharon proved to be the constant champions for being John’s lifeline, particularly due to his inability to be away from the house very often. Harolyn was a frequent telephone partner with John, and he and Jim conversed with one another, by phone, almost every day for the past five years. However, bringing greatest happiness after she moved to Austin were those times Alex drove up to spend time with her Daddy, and talk with him by phone – even teaching him to text more recently.

Also clearly important in John’s life were his nephews and nieces and their spouses, Christopher and Christine Deaton, Angela and Allen Harrison, Lynn and Samantha Knight, Jeff and Michelle Knight, Preston and Janice Hoelscher, Gwen and Travis Riley, and Heather and Michael McDonald, and all their children.

Thanksgiving this year brought an especial blessing as John, his brother and sisters and their spouses, nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews all gathered to celebrate the holiday.

Although receiving great medical care, John’s health continued to decline as breathing became progressively more difficult. In August, 2010, he was diagnosed with cancer in his right lung. He underwent several chemo treatments in the weeks prior to his sudden passing the evening of Thursday, December 3.

If occasionally you can’t determine from where you hear laughter coming, it is probably the angels responding to another of John’s relentless stream of jokes. Feel free to join in – just know it will probably encourage him to add another.