ENID, Okla. — Funeral service for Reuben Weber, 102, of Okeene,
will be 10 a.m. today, Jan. 8, 2013, at United Methodist Church,
Okeene. Burial will follow in Roselawn Cemetery. Arrangements by
Wilkinson Mortuary, Okeene.
Reuben Edward Weber was born to David and Elizabeth (Hollander) Weber on Jan. 3, 1911, in a dugout southwest of Okeene. He was the oldest of eight children. The other children were Louise Boeckman, Luella Hauser, Leona Winter, Roy Weber, Verda Silks, Chester Weber and Roger Weber. Reuben’s only remaining sibling, Chester, lives in Houston, Texas.
The Weber family attended St. John’s Evangelical and Reformed Church in Okeene, where he was baptized and confirmed.
His family moved to the farm four miles south and three miles east of Okeene, where he attended Roosevelt Country School until the eighth grade. He attended high school in Okeene, but had to drop out during the Depression time of the late 1920s. It was during those tough times that he joined the Civil Conservation Corps and was stationed in the Wichita Mountain Refuge area helping build many of the buildings around the headquarters area, the buffalo pens and some of the dams around the lakes in the area. After several months with the CCC’s, he was placed in command of a group of men.
In the mid-1930s, he returned to the Okeene area and courted Frieda Haffner, another church member of the E&R Church. When he asked for her hand in marriage from her father, Gottfried Haffner, he said yes. Mr. Haffner replied, “I have fooled two Weber boys, so I might as well fool another.” Frieda’s older and younger sisters, Leah and Emma, had already married Weber brothers.
Frieda and Reuben married on Sept. 3, 1938. They moved to a farm south of Okeene and later bought a farm five miles east and four miles south of Okeene, where they lived until 1953. The couple raised three children, Karel, Cheryl, and Dennis. Karel and her husband George Dobrinski live in Okeene. Cheryl and her husband Kirk Rothell live in Brenham, Texas. Dennis Weber and his wife Deborah live in Oklahoma City.
During Reuben’s work career he farmed, worked on the line crew with the Okeene Telephone Co., custodian and bus driver with Okeene Public School, worked at the Homestead Co-Op elevator and filling station, and worked at Tony’s Conoco service station, in addition to working with the CCC.
He and Freida also built the Dari-Whip in the late-’50s and operated that for a period of time into the 1960s. Their famous hamburger, “The Whippet Burger,” was also featured on the menu of Charlie and Reuben’s restaurant in Okeene.
After retirement from the Dari-Whip, Reuben was a painter and handyman at Okeene Nursing Home. He retired from that position in the 1980s.
There are several things that should be mentioned about Grandpa Weber, or many people around Okeene call him Uncle Reuben. He claims the title of being the oldest man in Okeene who rode a bicycle and and he had several sayings that will live forever in the minds of those who know him. When hearing a story, he was likely to say, “that story just fascinates me.” And when asked how he was doing, he would likely comment, “well, I am cooking and cleaning and picking up after myself.” Some of his favorite activities were dominoes, Bingo and visiting with anyone who would stop to say hello.
You rarely saw Grandpa Weber without a grandkid by his side. They were the treasures in his life.
Karel’s three children include Jimmy, Kevin and Michael. Cheryl’s three children are Angie, Amy and Brenda. Dennis has four children, Eric, Alicia, Jeff and Michael. He was also blessed with 18 great-grandchildren; and four great-great-grandchildren.
(Submitted by family)
Reuben Edward Weber was born to David and Elizabeth (Hollander) Weber on Jan. 3, 1911, in a dugout southwest of Okeene. He was the oldest of eight children. The other children were Louise Boeckman, Luella Hauser, Leona Winter, Roy Weber, Verda Silks, Chester Weber and Roger Weber. Reuben’s only remaining sibling, Chester, lives in Houston, Texas.
The Weber family attended St. John’s Evangelical and Reformed Church in Okeene, where he was baptized and confirmed.
His family moved to the farm four miles south and three miles east of Okeene, where he attended Roosevelt Country School until the eighth grade. He attended high school in Okeene, but had to drop out during the Depression time of the late 1920s. It was during those tough times that he joined the Civil Conservation Corps and was stationed in the Wichita Mountain Refuge area helping build many of the buildings around the headquarters area, the buffalo pens and some of the dams around the lakes in the area. After several months with the CCC’s, he was placed in command of a group of men.
In the mid-1930s, he returned to the Okeene area and courted Frieda Haffner, another church member of the E&R Church. When he asked for her hand in marriage from her father, Gottfried Haffner, he said yes. Mr. Haffner replied, “I have fooled two Weber boys, so I might as well fool another.” Frieda’s older and younger sisters, Leah and Emma, had already married Weber brothers.
Frieda and Reuben married on Sept. 3, 1938. They moved to a farm south of Okeene and later bought a farm five miles east and four miles south of Okeene, where they lived until 1953. The couple raised three children, Karel, Cheryl, and Dennis. Karel and her husband George Dobrinski live in Okeene. Cheryl and her husband Kirk Rothell live in Brenham, Texas. Dennis Weber and his wife Deborah live in Oklahoma City.
During Reuben’s work career he farmed, worked on the line crew with the Okeene Telephone Co., custodian and bus driver with Okeene Public School, worked at the Homestead Co-Op elevator and filling station, and worked at Tony’s Conoco service station, in addition to working with the CCC.
He and Freida also built the Dari-Whip in the late-’50s and operated that for a period of time into the 1960s. Their famous hamburger, “The Whippet Burger,” was also featured on the menu of Charlie and Reuben’s restaurant in Okeene.
After retirement from the Dari-Whip, Reuben was a painter and handyman at Okeene Nursing Home. He retired from that position in the 1980s.
There are several things that should be mentioned about Grandpa Weber, or many people around Okeene call him Uncle Reuben. He claims the title of being the oldest man in Okeene who rode a bicycle and and he had several sayings that will live forever in the minds of those who know him. When hearing a story, he was likely to say, “that story just fascinates me.” And when asked how he was doing, he would likely comment, “well, I am cooking and cleaning and picking up after myself.” Some of his favorite activities were dominoes, Bingo and visiting with anyone who would stop to say hello.
You rarely saw Grandpa Weber without a grandkid by his side. They were the treasures in his life.
Karel’s three children include Jimmy, Kevin and Michael. Cheryl’s three children are Angie, Amy and Brenda. Dennis has four children, Eric, Alicia, Jeff and Michael. He was also blessed with 18 great-grandchildren; and four great-great-grandchildren.
(Submitted by family)