Memorial services for Dr. Roy Thomas Maxwell, 83, of Ada are 2:00 p.m. Saturday, January 30, 2016 at the Criswell Funeral Home Chapel, Rev. David Daniel will officiate.
Dr. Maxwell passed away Sunday, January 17, 2016 in Ada. He was born March 6, 1932 in Bell County, Texas. His family were sharecroppers. Roy attended Cedar Knob Elementary School then Mullen School, and graduated from Gustine High School. He graduated from the Baylor University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Religion in 1954. He received a M.Ed. Guidance and Counseling, and a minor in Clinical Psychology in 1957 from North Texas State University. He received an Ed.D. Counseling Psychology and Personnel Administration. Dr. Maxwell served in the U.S. Army from 1954-1956 with his highest rank being Corporal. He served as a Company Clerk in Panama during the Korean Conflict.
He moved to Ada in 1962. Dr. Maxwell was the Professor of Psychology and Chairman of the Psychology Department at East Central University in Ada from 1962-1992. He worked as a child psychologist at the guidance center part-time and had a part-time private practice. Later, Dr. Maxwell went into full time private practice and retired from his practice in 2013. Dr. Maxwell did extensive research about varied topics such as learning, hypnosis, computer assisted diagnosis, relaxation, pain management, burnout, bilingual education (Seminole-Creek/English) and suicide prevention. Also in his private practice, Roy had a varied practice but also specialized in writing behavior plans for special-needs children and adults and evaluating and treating veterans with PTSD. Roy also served on the board of the Campfire Girls and was a Mason.
Over the course of his rich and blessed life, Roy enjoyed reading and learning as well as playing high school football. In high school in Gustine, TX, Roy was required to play football in order for the school to have enough players for an eight person team. He never claimed to be good at it. He continued to be a lifelong fan of college sports. The Roy T. Maxwell family attended many an Orange Bowl when the Sooners were playing.
Roy started running in the 1970s and completed a marathon in 1976. He would sometimes get up at 4 in the morning to run in the neighborhood park or would go to the college indoor track in bad weather.
He loved camping and fishing, boating and sailing, playing 42 , bridge, and poke for matchsticks, surrounded by friends and family. He did express some doubt about the rules of Canasta as taught to us by beloved sister-in-law, Marie.
He loved ping-pong and played with daughters at home, and even occasionally in the rec room of the First United Methodist Church in Ada. He bragged about “holding the table” for hours when he was in the army. That meant winning every game for two or three hours at a time against all challengers.
He traveled extensively with his family, taking month-long vacations driving around the U. S., Mexico, and Canada. Roy and Gwynell toured many countries and enjoyed cruises in his later years.
Survivors include his wife, Gwynell Conway Maxwell of Ada; daughter, Janet Lynn Maxwell-Conner and husband Lee Gary Conner of San Angelo, TX; daughter, Donna Cheryl Maxwell-LeRoy and husband Jonathan Albert LeRoy of Denton, TX; and two granddaughters, Rebecca Louise Maxwell-LeRoy, Denton, TX and Juliana Maxwell Conner, San Angelo, TX.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Ethyl Rosalea Thomas Maxwell and John Thomas Maxwell; and by his siblings, Virgil Newton Maxwell, Riley Franklin Maxwell, Cecil Bennie Maxwell and Mary Elizabeth Maxwell Clements.
The family says those who wish may make memorials to the Ada post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, VFW Post #11194, P. O. Box 246, Ada, OK 74821.
Obituaries may be viewed and online condolences sent to criswellfh.com.
Criswell Funeral Home, Ada
Criswell Funeral Home, Ada
