Donald Keith Odom
Born: August 04, 1923
Died: December 04, 2010
Donald Keith Odom, 87, passed away December 4, 2010. He was born August 4, 1923 in Cushing, OK to Earl Kent Odom, Sr. and Annie N. Swartout Odom.
Don served in the U.S. Navy during WWII. During that time he began corresponding with Phyllis Lawson who was attending Phillips University. After his service in the Navy he too attended Phillips University earning Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Education. Don and Phyllis married April 14, 1946 in Wichita, KS. They moved to Guthrie, OK in August 1950 where Don began his teaching career at Fogarty Junior High teaching Oklahoma History and Civics. He was a classroom teacher for 18 years and then became the audio-visual director for Guthrie Public Schools until his retirement. He was also a seasonal park ranger at Platt National Park for 16 summers. Don and Phyllis have been loyal members of the First Christian Church of Guthrie for over 60 years. Don began the sound and video ministry for the church in which the services are videotaped and then taken to those unable to attend church. Don was a member of the Guthrie Scottish Rite and a 33rd Degree Mason. He was also a member of Albert Pick Lodge #162 AF&AM and Lions Club. He was also known as “Guthrie’s Resident Historian”. He loved Oklahoma history, especially Guthrie’s history.
His grandfather made the land run of 1889 and staked a claim in Guthrie and Don’s mother was born in Guthrie in 1890. He and his Oklahoma History classes were instrumental in getting historical markers placed around Guthrie. His sense of humor was one of his greatest assets. He loved to tell a good joke.
Do was preceded in death by his parents, brother E. Kent Odom, Jr., and daughter and son-in-law Janice and Richard Kinkade.
He is survived by hiw wife of 64 years, Phyllis of the home; daughter and son-in-law Carann and bob Sanderson of Choctaw, OK; sisters Connie Sharp of Midwest City, OK and Carole Ferris of Arlington, VA; brothers-in-law Jim Sharp of Midwest City and Jim Lawson of Wichita, KS; three grandchildren Holly Kinkade and Scott Kinkade of Guthrie and Courtney Lawson of Midwest City; two great-grandchildren Ashlyn and Tanner Lawson of Midwest City.
Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m., Thursday, December 9, 2010 at First Christian Church, Guthrie with Dr. Dennis E. Clark officiating. Interment will follow at Memory Gardens Memorial Park Cemetery. Services are under the direction of Smith-Gallo Funeral Home, Guthrie.
Visitation will be Wednesday, 9:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. and Thursday, 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. At the family’s request, the casket will not be open after the services.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Video Ministry of First Christian Church, 402 East Noble Avenue, Guthrie, OK 73044.
This site may be freely linked, but not duplicated in any way without consent.
All rights reserved! Commercial use of material within this site is prohibited!
© 2000-2024 Oklahoma CemeteriesThe information on this site is provided free for the purpose of researching your genealogy. This material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, for your own research, as long as this message remains on all copied material. The information contained in this site may not be copied to any other site without written "snail-mail" permission. If you wish to have a copy of a donor's material, you must have their permission. All information found on these pages is under copyright of Oklahoma Cemeteries. This is to protect any and all information donated. The original submitter or source of the information will retain their copyright. Unless otherwise stated, any donated material is given to Oklahoma Cemeteries to make it available online. This material will always be available at no cost, it will always remain free to the researcher.