John Huckaby

John Burrel Huckaby was born on August 15, 1942 to Burrel Radford Huckaby and Geneva (Mensch) Huckaby. He grew up in the Pleasant View community west of Pryor where he attended grade school. He was a very intelligent little boy that finished his lessons too quickly, so often found himself sitting on the teacher's lap or helping in the lunch room to keep him out of mischief. So the story goes, the teacher actually tied him in his chair once, at which point he took out his trusty pocket knife and cut himself free. He graduated from Pryor High School with the class of 1960. He attended Northeastern in the fall of 1960. Not being a very serious student at the time, decided his time would be better spent serving his country, so he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in the spring of 1961. He served on several bases in Texas and then spent 2 years in Japan. He was crew chief on C-130's, flying in and out of Viet Nam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Laos. He returned home to Pryor in December 1965, and he married Susan Kester on July 30, 1966. He worked for Lockheed Aircraft on several service bases across the U.S. and in Viet Nam. He & Susan owned a service station on South 69 Hwy in Pryor from 1969 - 1971. His daughter Melody was born in 1971, and shortly afterwards he went back to college and graduated with his B.A. in Accounting and Business Management from Northeastern State University in 1975. His son James was born in 1973. His children were his pride and joy. He worked for Ralston Purina from 1976 to 1985, helping with the construction of the plant and working in maintenance as a project engineer. In 1977 he opened his home and heart to Sherry & Rita Hastings upon the passing of their mother. From 1985 to 2003 he worked for Georgia Pacific as Human Resources Director and Safety Manager. He "retired" in 2003. As he worked on his many projects around the house, he was at the lumber yard so often they hired him and put his knowledge to work helping others with their "honey do" lists. He could literally build anything out of nothing. What most people called junk, he envisioned as something useful. A leaky acid tank became a functioning swimming pool where many children learned to swim. Give him a sheet or 2 of plywood, a couple cans of spray paint or stain and you had a fire engine bunk bed complete with a toy chest for an engine. Add a little carpet & foam pads to the mix and wa-la you got a hip teenaged girl's bed-storage unit. A 10 ft. by 6 ft. gaping hole in the bedroom wall became a beautiful marble fireplace. . . 1 year later!!! Need a ceiling fan installed, call John! Need a desk for your college apartment? 10 Cinder blocks, some plywood, & a couple cans of polyurethane later and you had a desk on which to burn that mid-night oil. Need a shelving unit, room divider, or a storage unit for your comic books? He was our guy. His only flaw in this area. . .he did not like to sand! So if you wanted a smooth surface, be prepared to invest a little of your time! His talents didn't stop there. He was very artistic. He could draw you a picture of his designs in a matter of minutes. He dabbled in oil paints, wood carving, and wood turning. He was also very mechanically talented. While working for Ralston he designed and built a piece of equipment that saved the company thousands of dollars a year. Daughter turning 16? A non-functioning 55 chevy sprouted a sun roof, a new engine, and was the star of the homecoming parade. Son's 51 5-window cab pickup was used as a father-son "bounding" instrument constantly requiring more work. Broke down in an ice storm half-way across the state, or a couple states away? Call Dad. His greatest talent was loving his family! His wife, children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews were very important to him. He loved bragging about them and their varied accomplishments to anyone that would listen. He was a member of the American Legion, the VFW, the Elks Lodge of Pryor, and the Breakfast Club at McDonalds. And He was a charter member of the Pleasant View Baptist Church. At the age of 73 on April 24, 2016 he passed from this life after a long struggle with several different health issues. He is survived by his wife Susan of the home, brother Homer Huckaby and wife Karen of Pryor, son James Huckaby and wife Sandi of Tulsa, daughters Melody Rowlett and husband D.J. of Norman, Sherry Callison and husband Dan of Pryor, and Rita Newman and husband Mark of Sand Springs, 6 grandchildren Eric Callison, Abby Woodward and husband Randy, Brett and Emily Newman, and Sydney and Audrey Huckaby, 2 great grandchildren Case and Maggie Woodward, his brother-in-law Lee Stipes and wife Linda of Pryor, sister-in-law Arlene Huckaby of Tyler, TX, beloved nieces & nephews, and a host of family and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents Burrel & Geneva Huckaby, one brother Joe Huckaby, and sister Edna Mae Stipes. Memorial services will be held at 2:00 p.m., Saturday, April 30, 2016 in the Shipman's Funeral Home Chapel with Becky Hawkins officiating. In lieu of flowers the family asks you make a donation to the American Cancer Society or the American Heart Association. To leave his family a message, please visit his Book of Memories at www.shipmansfuneralhome.com. Arrangements are under the direction of Shipman's Funeral & Cremation Service.

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