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Jesse Junior DeBoard was born in Mountain View, Missouri, on June 15, 1925, and passed from this life on Sunday, May 19, 2013, in Midwest City, Oklahoma. He was the seventh of ten children born to Jesse Cleveland DeBoard and Leota Wilbanks DeBoard.
He was preceded in death by his daughter Gayle Bruce, his grand-daughter Vicki Inman; his parents, four brothers: Cecil, Olen, Melvin, and Charles , and three sisters: Pauline Evans, Irene Brown, and Lorene Anderson.
He is survived by his wife Betty of the home, his children, Yvonne Grady and husband Gary of Muskogee, Ralph DeBoard and wife Brenda of Edmond; Son-in-law Warren Bruce of Midland, Texas; sisters Charlene of Enid and Eileen of Sand Springs; grandchildren Jennifer McCutchen, Kristi Grady, Scott DeBoard, Greg DeBoard, Holly Towers, and 8 great-grandchildren Jeana, Morganne, Melissa, Dalton, Gabriel, Slade, Olivia, & Lewis.
The family moved from Mountain View to Dilworth, a small community outside Braman, Oklahoma, in 1928. Jess attended Dilworth School through tenth grade and transferred to Braman High School where he graduated in 1943.
He met, courted, and married the love of his life, Betty Louise Slade in 1944. They had three children, Yvonne, born in 1945; Ralph, born in 1946; and Gayle (now deceased), born in 1950. After high school, Jess was drafted into the Army, but was given a three-month deferment to help plant the next year"s wheat crop. He was assigned to Amarillo for basic training, where he was one of seven recruits selected for the Army Air Corps. Out of this group, he was the only one sent to the University of Montana. He was then assigned to gunnery training in Las Vegas where his future B-17 crew was assembled and sent to El Paso for their overseas training.
Betty, accompanied by her father, traveled by train to El Paso where Jess & Betty were married in the Montana Street Church of Christ on September 21, 1944. In December Jess was sent to the European Theater, traveling on the Queen Mary. He flew 21 missions over Nazi Germany during World War II as a B-17 ball turret gunner in the 457th Bomb Group based in Glatton, England. After his 21st mission the war thankfully ended and Jess , a member in good standing of the Greatest Generation, soon flew home on what he loved to describe as a "noisy, rickety, old prop plane". However as soon as he arrived in Boston, he was informed that his mother had died and the Red Cross already had a ticket arranged to fly him home for his mother"s funeral. The funeral was delayed two hours to allow him to arrive.
Jess & Betty made their first home in Blackwell where their 3 children were born. They moved to Midwest City, Oklahoma in 1954 when Jess began driving for the Loving Truck Lines. Jess worked there for about 20 years driving weekly runs between Oklahoma City and Denver, followed by many years as manager of the truck line. In 1973 he began working in various capacities for Coldiron Lumber Company.
After retirement in 1985 Jess spent many years working with Ed Archer rebuilding wrecked cars, several of which became the prized first cars of his grandchildren. Jess and Betty"s home was always open to family and friends who fondly recall the traditional 4th of July gatherings at their Choctaw home where Jess churned the homemade ice cream and grilled the burgers. Jess faithfully and selflessly served Eastside Church of Christ in many capacities including that of Elder. His wise counsel was sought by family and friends because they trusted his judgment. Jess loved people and took an active interest in everyone he met. He was the ultimate kind and courteous gentleman, is much loved and will be greatly missed. He will always be remembered as a faithful Christian, beloved husband, dad, grandpa, great-grandpa, and a really good man.
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