William Herbert "Rusty" Uhles III Obit

William Herbert "Rusty" Uhles III
May 6, 1959 - Feb 28, 2005

Photo © by Kay Marshall

©The Chickasha Express-Star

5 March 2005

Submitted by: Sandi Carter

William H. "Rusty" Uhles III died in an automobile accident on Monday, February 28, 2005 at age 45. Services will be at 10:00 a.m., Thursday, March 3, 2005, at First Baptist Church in Norman with Reverend John Stitt officiating.

Burial will follow at Norman I.O.O.F. Cemetery. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Havenbrook Funeral Home in Norman.

Rusty was born on May 6, 1959 in Oklahoma City, the oldest son of William H. "Herb" and Jequita Johnson Uhles. He graduated from Norman High in 1977, and attended college at Rose State, the University of Oklahoma, and Central State University. In 1981 he married Starla Knight, his high school sweetheart and the love of his life. They had a daughter, Taylor Dawn, and a son, William H. "Ty" Uhles IV.

While attending college, Rusty worked with the youth group at First Baptist Church as a part-time staff asistant and later at the Family Life Center. After his marriage, he worked with his parents in the Uhles Food Market, the family grocery store in Oklahoma City. His other positions included Keller Sporting Goods in Oklahoma City and Black's Sporting Goods in Enid. He was currently employed as a Mortgage Broker with Gateway Mortgage Company in Chickasha.

Throughout his life, Rusty was involved with sports, church, and youth. He went on numerous church mission trips: conducting sports camps, singing in the choir, and managing the sports equipment. He played multiple sports but focused on football in high school. During his senior year he was selected as All-Conference center and All-Conference nose guard. The rest of his life, he was either playing a sport or coaching others. He took great delight in coaching his daughter Taylor in basketball and softball and his son Ty in basketball, baseball, and football. Last fall, he joined his three brothers in coaching two of his nephews in tackle football.

As a coach, Rusty had an extraordinary ability to see the special talent each player possessed, and knew exactly what to do to bring that talent out to its fullest potential. Both parents and players were aware of Rusty's skill at recognizing players' strengths and diagnosing their weaknesses and loved him for it. He led teams, in baseball, basketball, and football, to many championship seasons.

Rusty was also an avid fisherman. His family says he could not drive down any side road without looking for a great fishing pond.

He was known by all for his quick wit, his ready smile, and his very big heart.

Rusty was preceded in death by his grandparents, William H. "Bill" & Lula Belle Uhles, and Otis & Willene Johnson; his father, William H. "Herb" Uhles; and his father-in-law, Dorman A. Knight.

Survivors include his wife, Starla, and son, Ty, of the home, and daughter, Taylor, of Tulsa; his mother, Jequita Johnson Uhles, of Norman; sister, Sharla Hibbard and husband, Matt, and their sons, Hutch, Heath, and Hunter, of Oklahoma City; brother, Ron and his wife, Holly, [sister of Starla]. and their son, Jaxon, and daughter, Jillian; brother, Ric and his wife, Sherri, and their daughter, Amy, and son, Lance; brother, Rob and his wife, Charla, and their son, Zac; mother-in-law, Arletta Fink and her husband, Dee, all of Norman.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are being accepted to create a college fund for Rusty's children, Taylor and Ty. Donations may be forwarded to Tom Cooper at First American Bank in Norman.

Send condolences online at http://www.havenbrookfuneralhome.com/Obituaries.html

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All rights reserved! Commercial use of material within this site is prohibited!
© 2000-2024 Oklahoma Cemeteries