Gaines Newton Taylor

Gaines Newton Taylor, 90, passed away on April 25, 2011. He was born on July 24, 1920, in Fouke, Arkansas, to Tommy Newton and Katherine Carrol (Calhoon) Taylor. He was the middle child of 7 siblings, and the last survivor. His father died at a young age leaving Gaines the male head of the household at the age of 12. With little source of income during these trying times, Gaines helped his mother raise his younger twin brothers and baby sister, working in the cotton fields and going to school as much as he could. While working in the “C-C” camps, a government sponsored employment program, he met Eunice Deaton and married her on August 31, 1941. He was 21 and she was l6.

Just a short time after the bombing at Pearl Harbor he joined the United States Navy. While he was serving his country, his mother and youngest sister Doris lived with his new wife, and the three of them together awaited scarce news from the war arena in the south pacific. Returning home safely after the war, Gaines and Eunice started their family. Peggy was born in 1946 and Tommy in 1949. In 1950, after going to work at Tinker Air Force Base as a jet engine inspector, he moved his family into a small new 2 bedroom home in Midwest City, and it is Eunice’s home today. They joined Country Estates Baptist Church where all were baptized in the 50’s. Together, He and Eunice raised the kids and cared for his ailing mother who lived with them from the day they married until her death in 1968.

Gaines worked at Tinker Air Force Base until his retirement in l972. Gaines enjoyed any hobby that involved using his hands. Over the years he built a room on to the house for his mother, enclosed the garage for a bedroom, and spent many hours trying his hand at upholstery. He loved time camping and fishing, picking up and shelling pecans, also picking many bushels of ripe fruit from his backyard each season. In his later years Gaines lost his eyesight and the ability to walk. However, through all his infirmities he always maintained his story telling skills and endearing sense of humor.

Gaines is survived by his faithful and loving wife Eunice. Their son Tommy, his wife Karen and children Dusti & Garry Wideman and Kevin Taylor. Their daughter Peggy Pierce and her children Angie and Chris Woods.

A graveside service will be held at 2:00 p.m., Thursday, April 28, 2011 at Arlington Memory Gardens.