Lyle R. Stephens

Lyle R. Stephens, 94, of Midwest City, OK passed away on April 24, 2012. He was born in Salem, Illinois on February 4, 1918 and grew up on a farm north of Salem. He was the first son of Roy W. Stephens and Ethel Ruby Kagy. He had one brother and twin sisters. He helped his dad with the livestock, milking cows, and feeding pigs and horses. After high school, he went to work for Leckrone Dairy Farm. He later married Erma Ilene Guymon on May 14, 1938 in St. Louis, MO. They had a daughter, Joyce in 1940, and a son Gene in 1943. They had moved to Iowa where Lyle worked for Green Giant Cannery. He had gone to work for G. C. Welsh Trucking Co. in Salem. In 1948, the trucking company moved to Oklahoma during the oil boom. Lyle moved his family to Lindsay, OK. After Welsh Trucking sold out, he went to work for Bill Hodges Trucking in Maysville, OK. He worked for Bill Hodges Trucking 37 years. He & Mom had moved to Hennessey, OK in 1962. They moved to Midwest City, OK in 1964 and lived there after retiring. His loving wife of 64 years preceded him in death in 2002. She had worked for Langston’s Dept. Store for 20 years. He was also preceded in death by his parents and a great-grandson Jeffrey Kyle Massey. He also lost his only brother, Neale Stephens, serving in the Philippines in 1944. Survivors include his daughter Joyce Winfield, Midwest City, OK, and son Gene Stephens, Wewoka, OK, sisters Margaret Shaffer from Salem, Ill and Marie Turner from Niantic, Ill. Also, grandsons Jeff Massey and wife Heather, Okla. City, OK, Greg Massey and wife Elisa, Okla. City, OK, Troy Stephens and wife Cathy, of McAlester, OK; granddaughter Tracy Posner, San Francisco, CA; great-grandchildren Sydnee Massey, Kaylea Massey, Garrett Massey, Jasmine Massey, and Jacob Massey; and step great-grandchildren, Madison and Jacob Rule and Jordan Blankenship and Brent Snider and wife as well as several nieces and nephews that adored him. Viewing will be held on Friday, April 27th from 5 pm until 8 pm at Sunny Lane Funeral Home. Funeral service will be held at 2 pm on Saturday, April 28th at Sunny Lane Funeral Home Chapel located at 4000 SE 29th Street; Del City, OK 73115. Burial will follow at Sunny Lane Cemetery.