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James Albert Austell, 91, passed away on Tuesday, October 6, 2020 in Stillwater. Memorial service will be held on Thursday, October 15, 2020 at 6:00pm at Dighton Marler Funeral Home Chapel.
James Albert Austell was born September 28, 1929, to Louie and Gladys (Cox) Austell. His parents preceded him in death as well as one younger brother, Louie Austell, Jr.
He is survived by his wife of 72 years Joann Austell; daughter Karen and her husband Bob Culton of Stillwater; sons Jim Jr of Stillwater; Mack and his wife Shirley of Glencoe; Lonnie and his wife Cecilia of Stillwater; and Rex and wife Vickie of Yale. Five granddaughters Dana Culton and Joe Swalwell of OK City; Crystal Austell and Ryan Phillips of Stillwater; Angie Austell of Stillwater; Melody and Bruce Cates of Mannford; Courtney and TJ Ellis of Owasso; and one grandson Shane Austell of Cushing. Five great grandchildren Zoe Boyd, Stillwater; Amy Austell, Glencoe; Jeff Cates, Mannford; Dakota James Phillips, Stillwater; and Rylan Ellis, Owasso.
He is survived by two brothers Rayford Austell of Reform, Alabama and Lionel Austell of Clarksville, Tennessee as well as various other family members, friends, and coon-hunting buddies.
The family lived in Oklahoma until 1936 when they moved to Clovis, New Mexico. James and his brothers had great adventures growing up in the ‘wild west’ and he had many stories about the film companies being in town while producing western movies.
The family moved to Little Rock, Arkansas in 1939 and they raised championship hogs for several years. In 1946 the family moved to the Stillwater area where he attended the Eureka Independent School District and met the love of his life, Joann. Always the hunter he would bring his teacher squirrels and rabbits instead of the standard apple. He graduated from Eureka in May, 1947.
He married Joann Boyce on November 7, 1948 and they made their home in Stillwater where they lived for 72 years. He worked at the Co-Op in Perkins for a brief time and then went to work for Midwest Dairy and stayed on when they become Gold Spot Dairy and eventually Hiland Dairy until he retired.
He was an avid fisherman throughout the years and most of his free time was spent fishing alone or with the family. His interest in coon hunting started when he would come home from fishing and a neighbor would be loading up to go out hunting for the evening. The neighbor was happy to talk “dogs” and it didn’t take long for him to become interested in coon hunting. He still enjoyed the family fishing trips while the kids were growing up but eventually coon hunting became his number one activity. He quickly developed the skills in handling the dogs and then started the boys hunting. He spent a lot of time with his boys in the woods with their hunting dogs. They also attended hunts and dog shows in Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas meeting a lot of people who became good friends. He continued to hunt after retirement with sons Lonnie and Mack eventually just enjoying sitting on the tailgate and listening to the dogs in the woods. He always had a story to tell about a hunt and enjoyed telling good ones on the boys always ending with a big smile and a laugh.
He was an excellent dog trainer but had many other talents. He had a natural musical ability and played guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, and harmonica. He didn’t care about singing in general but he always played and sang Froggy Went A-Courtin’ and numerous other fun songs for the grandkids. He enjoyed sketching and filled several books mostly with blue tick dogs and hunting scenes. He was an avid reader and enjoyed his coon hunting magazines and westerns.
After he was unable to get out in the woods, he enjoyed watching rodeos and westerns on TV. When you watched either with him, he always had a “personal story” to tell you about riding and breaking horses or the antics that he and his three brothers had while growing up.
He always had time for his grandchildren and great grandchildren. When he was unable to see them, he enjoyed hearing about what they were doing and seeing pictures and short videos. He would just laugh at some of the stories and say they took after him or Joann.
He was an honorable man who could be trusted to make a deal on a handshake. His friendly hello and quick smile will be greatly missed by all who were fortunate enough to know him.
Condolences may be sent to the family via an online guestbook at www.dightonmarler.com
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