Vernon Keith O'Dell

Keith’s dad was employed at the Oklahoma Cotton Growers’ Association in Duncan,

and he traveled all over the area. When Keith started to grade school, his dad was

transferred to Oklahoma City.

Keith was always up for grand adventures. He went to grade school in downtown

Oklahoma City near the Walker Street bridge. There was a fire station across the street

from the school. As he was waiting to be picked up after school, the firemen invited

him over and sat him up in the big engine, quite a treat for a little fellow. He was

always getting into trouble. Once when his cousins visited they all got into the car and

dislodged the gearshift. And the old car went rolling down the hill into a railroad tie

barricade.

His cousin Betty Jo remembers that Keith was a good storyteller. They all used to get

together at his Aunt Alma’s house. One night the electricity went out and they were all

huddled around the gas stove to keep warm. Keith was entertaining everyone with a

good ghost story when his Uncle Reed donned an old parachute and crawled into the

kitchen, everyone thought they were seeing a ghost. Such good times the cousins all

had together.

He spent most summers with his dad’s parents working on the farm, and he was very

close to them. He remembered one time when his grandpa went to Comanche with a

buggy and came back with a 1939 Plymouth, he had paid for it with five cows. Many

happy memories with all of his aunts and uncles and cousins on the farm.

Keith played baseball and his Uncle Bill Cogdill thought he was good enough to try out

for a minor league playing in Oklahoma City. Keith thought the world of his Uncle Bill.

He also played football in high school until he hurt his knee.

He married Mary Chapman on May 17,1950 in Duncan, Oklahoma, at the home of his

aunt and uncle, Neal and Renie Coleman. His cousin Paula remembers that Keith was

so afraid that she would cut up and giggle during the ceremony that he didn’t want her

to attend. Her parents took her out of school anyway and she was a perfect angel.

During high school, Keith signed up for five years in the Marine Reserves. In June of

1950 he was sent to serve in the Korean War. He spent the first year in the infantry,

and the rest of his tour in engineering, driving a truck that dug ditches in the hard

frozen ground.

When he returned from Korea, the Marines tried to get him to re-enlist, “see the world.”

Mary told them that if he did that, she was going back home to live with her parents.

He did not re-enlist. Her family was from the Loco, Oklahoma area, not far from Keith’s

extended family. After they were married, they spent many weekends visiting in Loco,

Keith became very close to Mary’s family.

After his tour in Korea, Keith was hired as a civilian working at Tinker Air Force Base.

He and Mary made their home in Midwest City and raised their three children. For

most of his career he overhauled jet engine fuel controls, a very meticulous craft. He

usually could fix anything around the house. Later in life they built their dream home in

Choctaw, Oklahoma with plenty of room for a big garden. He was still mowing his one

and a third acres at 90 years old!

He enjoyed many hobbies throughout his lifetime. When he was younger he competed

in stock car races at the Oklahoma City fairgrounds. He was on a bowling team with

fellow workers at Tinker. He joined The Oklahoma Radio Kontrol Society (TORKS),

building and flying radio controlled airplanes. He earned his pilot’s license for small

planes, eventually buying a Beechcraft Bonanza with a partner. He loved building

models of all kinds, a large replica of the USS Constitution naval vessel graced the top

of the family television set for years. He loved World War II history—would talk all day

about the Battle of the Bulge or the Higgins boats used in amphibious landings.

He leaves behind by his three children, Debbie Hudson and husband Rick, Ron O’Dell

and wife Gloria, and Judy McIntosh. Brother-in-laws Bob Chapman and wife Joyce,

and Autie Chapman and wife Judy. Six grandchildren: Rebecca Pitts, Heather Wood,

Glenn West, Stephanie Thompson, Jason Holste, and Maria McIntosh. Eleven great-grandchildren:

Emma Pitts, Hope Wood, Grace Wood, Elijah Thompson, Seth

Thompson, Caleb Thompson, Harrison Hendricks, Jameson Hendricks, Kyler Williams,

Ezra West, and Emma Holste; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.

Keith had a hard road to travel the last two years of his life. In 2019, circulation

problems caused the loss of his left leg, and he spent his last days at Harrah Nursing

Center. He made the best of things though. He enjoyed visiting with the staff

members and the nurses. He loved watching old movies on television—World War II

movies and his favorite Clint Eastwood movies. He would go all over the nursing home

in his wheelchair, up and down the hallways. The COVID pandemic put him in isolation

from his family. After a pacemaker and a bout with the virus in November, he started

declining. His family will always be grateful for the compassionate caregivers at Harrah

Nursing Center and Valir Hospice who were with him at the end of his life.

Keith accepted Jesus Christ as his personal savior on July 7, 2019. Mary and his

children were so grateful for this. They look forward to their reunion in heaven.