Rex Farris

Rex Farris of Meeker was born Jan. 5, 1920, in Baxter County, Arkansas, near Mountain Home, the son of William Francis Farris and Effie Ella (Davis) Farris. In 1926, his father and two older brothers drove a covered wagon with two mules from Mountain Home, Arkansas, to Keokuk Falls, near Prague, Oklahoma. His mother and four children followed by train.Rex attended school at Lonestar, Keokuk, and Centerview schools and graduated from Excelsior High School, located near Cromwell, in 1939. He then attended Oklahoma A&M College. In 1940 and 1941, he was a part of the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) and spent that time in Golden, Colorado, in the landscape and recreation area. This was where he met Mary Marcella Grady. Rex joined the Army in 1942 and spent four years in the 101st Airborne Division as a paratrooper in World War II. He jumped in Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1945, at midnight. He also jumped in Holland in September at noon during the Operation Market Garden, taking the canal crossings at Veghel. He spent Christmas in 1944 in Bastogne, Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge. For his service, he received five Battle Stars and one Presidential Citation. He was awarded the Purple Heart three times, the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Clusters, and an award from the Belgium Government for service. After returning from service, he married Mary Marcella Grady on July 26, 1945, in Walla Walla, Washington. Rex worked for the Atomic Energy Commission in Hanford, Washington, for a number of years before returning to Shawnee. While living in Shawnee, he worked for Fred Turner Bus Lines, driving both a city route and cross country route. Later, he worked at Tinker Air Force Base as an electrical engineer for 30 years, retiring in 1979. Rex has been active in several car clubs, including Almost Ready to Cruise, Lincoln County Cruisers and Hudson Dustbowl Car Club. He enjoyed restoring old cars and had several that were his pride and joy, including a 1953 Hudson Hornet and a 1936 Ford 5 Window Coupe. In his younger days, he raced stock cars in Shawnee on Bryan Street, where he was a member of the Rollover Club. Dad loved to garden tomatoes, squash of all kinds, and peppers of every sort. He was proudest of his tomatoes, planting hundreds of them every year. He would give them to everyone. He even had the grandchildren set up a tomato, squash and pepper stand in front of his house so the children could have some pocket money. Preceded him in death were his wife of more than 50 years, Mary; his mother and father; three sisters, Helen Starr, Marie Morgan, and Ruby Jean Goodfellow; four brothers, George Farris, Lenzie Farris, Neil Farris, and Gus Farris; his daughter, Carrol Fields; and grandson, Michael Rider. He is survived by one son and daughter-in-law, Roy and Beverly Farris of Meeker; four daughters, Merrilee and husband Lester Wynn of Shawnee, Peggy Rider of Shawnee, Deborah Bradley of Woodward, Ella Farris of the home and son-in-law Ron Fields of Guthrie; 10 grandchildren, Lester and Melissa Wynn, Melissa and Ed Bryan, Ronnie and Shana Fields, Sunita and Michael Embrey, Tyler and Lacy Farris, Angela and Rocky Fortune, Jared Farris, Tim and Melody Bradley, Patrick Bradley, Jenna Bradley; 15 great-grandchildren; and a host of nieces and nephews and a large number of friends.