Tom Lunsford

Chapman Black Funeral Home

Submitted by: Jo Aguirre

Tom, former Chairman of the Board and owner of First Bank of Cleveland, OK, died Thursday, August 28, 2008. Tom's grandfather, R.L. Lunsford, was one of the founding fathers of Tulsa. He owned the Tulsa Democrat Newspaper, the forerunner of the Tulsa Tribune. He sold the paper, purchased the bank, and moved his family to Cleveland. Tom was born October 23, 1921. He graduated from Cleveland High School and attended Oklahoma University. He was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity and OU's marching band. He was called into service in 1941, sailing on the Queen Mary in 1944. He fought in the D Day Campaign and the Battle of the Bulge, earning him 3 Bronze Stars. He was a Korean War veteran as well, but served stateside in Lawton due to the fact he had 2 children. Tom graduated from the Wisconsin School of Banking in 1957, and worked his way up the ladder of the bank, beginning with the janitor position while in high school, to the presidency in 1964. He held that  title until the bank was sold in 2000. He was a member of the Oklahoma Bankers Association fifty year club. In 1993, when the former Soviet Union turned their sights on Western Banking, he was selected as one of three bankers from Oklahoma to travel to Moscow for an International Conference on Russian Banking. He was shocked at their lack of understanding of banking. Their entire bank code consisted of sixteen pages. He was treasurer of the Cleveland Public School System for over 35 years, a member of the Arkansas Basin Development Project, and a two-term Chamber of Commerce president, as well as serving as treasurer of the First Methodist Church, a Sunday School teacher, and various committees. He was preceded in death by his wife of 62 years, Jayne. He is survived by: his son, Tom Lunsford and his wife, Carol of Cleveland;. his daughter, Susie Morgan and her husband Phillip of Claremore; and 3 grandchildren. Funeral services will be held 2:00 pm, Tuesday, September 2, 2008 in the Sanctuary of the First United Methodist Church with Rev. Connie Taylor officiating. Burial will follow in the Woodland Cemetery on the family plot in Cleveland, Oklahoma. Memorial donations may be made in honor of Tom to the local Senior Citizens Building or a charity of your choice in Cleveland, Oklahoma. Funeral arrangments are under the direction of Chapman-Black Funeral Home, Inc.

Jayne E. Lunsford

Chapman Black Funeral Home

Submitted by: Jo Aguirre

Jayne E. Lunsford was born February 27, 1919 in Youngstown, Ohio. She was the daughter of Frank and Edith Booth. Jayne was raised and attended school in Youngstown, graduating from high school in 1937.

Upon completion of her education, Jayne accepted employment with the Pugh Brothers Jewelry Store for a while. She later began working as an elevator operator in Youngstown where the offices of General Electric and Ohio Edison Power Company were located. She was then hired as a secretary for the Ohio Edison Power Company and later was promoted to the position of Executive Secretary for the President of the company.

Jayne and Tom met on a blind date just prior to Tom being sent overseas during World War II. After a courtship of several months, the couple wed on December 11, 1943 in Youngstown, Ohio. A month after the wedding, Tom was sent overseas. Jayne continued to work in Ohio, and never really knew where Tom was located due to the tight security during World War II. In 1945, Tom returned home to Oklahoma to be released from active duty and immediately went to Ohio to bring Jayne back to Cleveland in 1946.

Tom then went to work for his father in the First National Bank. The couple had two children, Tom Rucker Lunsford II and Susan Jayne Lunsford. Jayne was later appointed as a Director of the First National Bank and remained a director when the bank became the First Bank of Cleveland. She served over twenty years on the Board of Directors.

Jayne was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Cleveland. For many years she served in numerous capacities of the church including the communion and parsonage boards. She also served as a Sunday school teacher for several years.

For many years, Jayne hosted a Saturday night bridge club for her friends and also enjoyed playing bridge during the weekdays with her friends in Club 13. She especially enjoyed ballroom dancing and spent many hours teaching local teens during the early 1960's at teen town. She also loved to travel and the couple traveled together to many places around the world including Europe, Germany, Mexico, Hawaii and all around the United States.

Jayne passed away Monday, May 9, 2005 as a result of injuries received in an automobile accident near Cleveland at the age of eighty-six years, two months and twelve days. She was preceded in death by her parents; a sister, Grace Pope; and a grand niece, Britney Pasqual.

Jayne is survived by her husband of sixty-one years, Tom R. Lunsford, of the home; son and his wife, Tommy and Carol Lunsford of Cleveland, Oklahoma; daughter, Susie Lunsford of Tulsa, Oklahoma; three grandchildren, Lt Tom R. Lunsford, III of LeMoore, California, Alexis l. Lunsford of Las Vegas, Nevada and Jeffrey W. Lunsford of Orlando, Florida.

Funeral services will be held at 2:30 p.m., Saturday, May 14, 2005 at the First United Methodist Church with Rev. George Boston officiating. Burial will be at the Woodland Cemetery under the direction of the Chapman-Black Funeral Home.

"Visit and online obituary, guestbook and video tribute for Jayne E. Lunsford at www.chapman-black.com."