© The Chickasha Express-Star
21 February 2002
Submitted by: Sandi Carter

Thank You For Your Service!

Horace Chester Duckworth

February 11, 1921 ~ February 19, 2002

Funeral service for Horace Chester was held at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, February 21, 2002, at All Saints Episcopal Church with Rev. William L. Graham officiating.

Interment was held at Oak Hill Cemetery under the direction of Bishop Funeral Service, McAlester.

Active Pall Bearers were Don Waller, Bob Waller, Felix Waller, Jimmy Davidson, Steve Davy and Randy Dorman.

Honorary Pall Bearers were Tom Lyles, Jim Lyles, George Rhodes, Louis E. 'Pete' Forneris, Bill Ervin, Bob Cleaver and Don Hass.

Horace Chester was born in Tom, Oklahoma, on February 11, 1921, to William and Bertie Rockholt Duckworth. He died Tuesday, February 19, 2002, at McAlester Regional Health Center.

The family moved to Pittsburg County when he was a small child, and he grew up in the Scipio and Lone Grove area. He attended school there, then served in the Civilian Conservation Corps. He married Wynema LaRue in McAlester on January 17, 1941. He worked for the Mackey Oil Company, then at the United States Naval Ammunition Depot during its construction.

He served in the Pacific with the U.S. Navy during World War II. After returning to civilian life he was employed at the Naval Ammunition Depot. In 1949 he attended the Oklahoma Highway Patrol Academy, and upon graduation from the Academy, he was employed by the Department of Public Safety as an Oklahoma Highway Patrolman. He served as a State Trooper for twenty and one-half years, retiring in January of 1970. During this time he attended college at South West State College and the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. He then worked for the Federal Bureau of Prisons at El Reno, Oklahoma, and retired from there in February 1981 as Landscape Foreman. In 1990, he and his wife moved back to McAlester from Chickasha where they had lived for twenty-six years.

In his younger years, he was very active in his community and church. In Shawnee he was active in Emmanuel Episcopal Church and served two terms as president of the Exchange Club. Also while in Shawnee, he coached little league baseball for three years. While living in Pawnee, he was active in Rotary Club and the Church of the Ascension.

While living in Chickasha, Horace was active in the Elks Lodge, St. Luke's Episcopal Church, and the National Association of Retired Federal Employees, serving two terms as president of the organization. He was a member of Masonic Lodge #96 and a member of the McAlester Elks Lodge #533. He was also a member of All Saints Episcopal Church where he served on the Vestry.

Survivors include: his wife, Wynema Duckworth, of the home; sister and brother-in-law: Mary and Jimmy Davidson, of Houston, Texas; 6 brothers and 3 sisters-in-law: James Duckworth, of Michigan, Paul Duckworth, of Ft. Worth, Texas, Lewis and Beverly Gray, of Hemet, California, Ray Gray, of Bakersfield, California, Leo and Sue Gray, of Desert Palm Springs, California, and Jim and Leda Gray, of Ft. Worth, Texas; 2sisters-in-law: Allie Patton, of McAlester, Oklahoma, and Ozell Davis, of McAlester, Oklahoma; several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his son, Horace C. Duckworth II, his parents, three sisters, and four brothers.

The family requests memorials be made to All Saints Episcopal Church.