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Anthony John Felder was born August 5th, 1928, in Okeene, Oklahoma to John D. and Velma (Biggs) Felder and passed away June 24th, 2021 at the age of 92.
He was born, raised and farmed the land acquired by his Great Grandfather Godfrey Felder in Land Run on April 19, 1893. He was thrilled when the land was designated an Oklahoma Centennial Farm and that it is still in the family. He attended St Mary’s School before blowing up the science room, and then attended and graduated from Okeene Public Schools in 1946. He was the oldest of 9 children and he treasured his siblings. Anthony was a resident of Okeene most of his life.
He married the love of his life, Dorothy “Jewel” Armstrong on August 10th, 1949 in Hennessey, OK. They were married 72 years. He is preceded in death by his parents, son Tony and daughter Jane Nusz and siblings: Bernice Boeckman, William, Anna, Vincent, John, and grandparents John Leo & Lena (Wapp) Felder and Anthony & Dora (Elward) Biggs.
Anthony was a member of St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church all of his life and a member of the Knights of Columbus. He walked to Mass every Sunday.
He began helping with the Okeene Rattlesnake hunt, as a young boy with his dad and siblings. Later, Anthony and Jewel opened their home every year during the hunt, providing meals and housing for his snake hunting friends. Virgil Pugh, Joe Fasig, Jim Brown, Tim Hartley, Leonard Jardoe and many others became a brotherhood. Old Smokey brought him so much laughter. A grandchild remembers him making Grandma empty her purse to catch a rattlesnake while they were driving.
Anthony and Jewel had a huge circle of friends who played bridge together. Norma & Percy Dobrinski, George & Carol Dobrinski, Joann & Morris Miller, Pat & Jerry Leach, and many more. Joan remembers that it seemed like 50 kids running around outside while they played.
He was a member of Okeene Jaycees, State officer of Jaycees, Okeene School Board, and the Okeene Quarterback Club.
Anthony worked at the U.S. Soil Conservation Service and retired in 1983. He was excited to open his own survey company and it was his delight when Tony joined him. He loved being a surveyor and was a member of Oklahoma Society of Land Surveyors - it was a piece of him – he was completely connected to the land and the soil. Surveying was a perfect fit for him. It was a combination of knowing the land and meeting people.
However, Anthony never “met” anyone. He knew them. He truly never met a stranger. He needed to be around people. He was the ultimate people person.
He loved farming (putting is grandkids in the wheat truck so wheat dumped on their heads), his cattle, hunting (having his grandkids clean the dove in the dark so they wouldn’t see how disgusting it was), hunting trips and coffee with friends. He loved telling a story. Making someone laugh was his ultimate pleasure. He had a keen and intelligent sense of humor.
He took great pleasure in his WW2 gun collection and coins and showing them to everyone who came in the door. It was his way of bonding with the new boyfriends and husbands in the family.
He loved his grandchildren deeply and gave them awesome nicknames. Dawndy Dynamo, Treenie Weiny, Niki Noodle, Birdman, Bomb bine, Bubba and Meems were just a few. And let’s not get started about how much he loved Vegas with friends and exposing his grandchildren to it on their 21st birthdays and teaching them to play craps.
His grandkids remember him as always having an inside joke and staying up to date with their lives. He was always learning something new, but never let people know how powerfully intelligent he truly was.
We remember taking lunch to him in the field at harvest in the trunk of an old Impala, sitting beside him in a 70’s model survey suburban, his Jeep and parades and making a tractor jump 3 feet in the air to get one of his grandkids out of somewhere they shouldn’t have been. He always seemed to be there to get us out of whatever jams we got ourselves into. He lead by example and completed his assignment from God. Well done good and faithful servant.
Anthony is survived by:
Jewel, his wife. Siblings Helen (Jim) Weber of Blackwell, OK; David (always there for him) of OKC, OK and Judy John of Church Point, LA.
Daughters Gladys “Beth” (Henry) Weber of Victoria, TX; Joan (Mike) Geers of Yukon, OK; Laura “Ruth” (Gary) Boeckman of Enid, OK, and Barbara (Dick) Creps of Okeene, OK
Grandchildren: Stephen (Tammy) Weber, Brian (Jamie) Weber, Nichole (Corey) Lipps, A. J. (Jenny) Nusz, John (Alicia) Nusz, Dawn (Ken) Bryant, Matt (Mellissa) Geers, Katrena (Mark) Winter, Keith Boeckman, Kyle (Jessica) Felder, Marie Felder
Great Grandchildren: Kaila, Kelvin, & Kristopher Trepanier; Christopher & Isaac Weber; Kate, Collin & Noah Lipps; Carson & Landon Nusz; Ashton Nusz; Madison, Evan & Aiden Dukes; Savannah & Olivia Boeckman; Hayden, Ashley & McKinley Winter; and Flynn Anthony Felder.
Great Great Granddaughter: Ariella Trepanier.
The Rosary will be Monday, June 28th at 6:00 pm and funeral services, Tuesday, June 29th at 3:00 pm at St Anthony’s Catholic Church in Okeene, OK with Father Jaroslaw Topolewski and Father ___ Mason officiating. Burial will follow in Calvary Cemetery, Okeene, OK with Wilkinson Mortuary in charge of arrangements.
Memorial Contribution may be made to: Get Kids into Surveying
https://www.nsps.us.com/donations/;
Okeene Diamondback Club,
St. Anthony
Catholic Church, Okeene; or
Circle of Love Hospice
https://hospicecircleoflove.com/memorial-donations/
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