McLoud resident Donn Bay Boatwright, 55, died Saturday, Feb. 10, in McLoud.
He was born May 22, 1951, in Independence, Kan., to Doyle Jene and Patricia Ann ( Williams) Boatwright.
Donn graduated in 1969 from Simi Valley High School in Simi Valley, Calif., and attended Moorpark Community College in Moorpark, Calif. He received his AA at Rose State.
On June 5, 1981, he married Stephanie Irene Denney in Oklahoma City.
Donn enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1970 and served for 24 years before retiring in 1994 from Tinker Air Force Base as First Sergeant. After retirement he was employed by Boeing Corp. as Surveillance Section Manager for the E-3 Mission Crew. Donn served in the military at many Air Force Bases worldwide.
He was a member of First Baptist Church, McLoud, where he served as Minister of Education and taught the College/Career class for eight years. Donn was ordained as a minister at Blackburn Chapel Baptist Church in 1986. He was a member of the Oklahoma Jail and Prison Ministry, where he ministered and taught at the Boley and McAlester facilities for 24 years. Donn and Irene were both members of the Noble Bee Keepers Association in Noble, Okla. He traveled on several mission trips to Africa, Dominica, South Dakota, and Matamoros, Mexico.
He was an avid outdoorsman, interested in hunting and fishing. He also was a licensed pilot. He loved his family and relished family gatherings.
He was preceded in death by his father, Doyle Jene Boatwright.
Survivors include his wife, Irene Boatwright of the home; daughters, Cheryl Laughlin of Lexington, and Deann Hames of Lexington; grandson, Jakob Kilgore of Lexington; mother, Patricia Ann Boatwright of McLoud; sister, Denise Grimes and husband, Delbert, of McLoud; niece, Alaina Donn Hall and husband, Trevor, of Oklahoma City; great-nephew, Alexander Hall of Oklahoma City.
Service will be 10 a.m. Thursday at First Baptist Church, McLoud, with the Rev. Ernest Graham officiating and assisted by the Rev. Larry Sparks. Burial will be at Blackburn Chapel Cemetery.
