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Arlo Dale Darr © Alva Review-Courier 04-2016 Submitted by: Jo Aguirre
Deceased Name: ARLO DALE DARR
Funeral services day will be Saturday, April 30, 2016, at 2 p.m. in Freedom, Oklahoma, at the Freedom School Auditorium. Burial will follow in the Freedom Cemetery under the direction of Wharton Funeral Chapel. Online condolences may be made at www.whartonfuneralchapel.com.
Arlo Dale Darr was born January 23, 1930, and went to his heavenly home April 27, 2016. Arlo was the firstborn of ten children to Otis and Retha Darr. His mom always told him he was so small when he was born he fit in a shoe box.
During Arlo's "growing up" years, he attended several different schools. In the first grade he attended Freedom; the second grade he attended Selman. (His dad worked for J.O. Selman.) When the family moved to the Haines Ranch, southeast of Waynoka, they found that there were no buses running to the outlying area, so the children returned to Freedom and stayed with their Darr grandparents. At this time, Arlo was in the third and fourth grades. He attended his fifth- and sixth-grade years at Red Hill School. When Red Hill School closed Arlo finished the seventh, eighth, and ninth grades at Ferry. Arlo was very proud that in his adult years he received his G.E.D. Now that school days were over for Arlo, he began to think of work, and work it was. From the early age of 12, local ranchers gave him jobs. He drove an Allis Chalmers tractor, and plowed wheat ground for George Dyer; the following summer, he worked for Bird Bates. Here, he drove a team of mules to work the spring crop. He also had cows to milk morning and night.
At age 14, he worked for Frank Kamas; at age 15, for Wilbur May. That same year, after the fall work was finished, he decided to go to California with his Uncle Fred Darr. This idea sounded good to Arlo, since he had always heard that "money grows on trees out there." Arlo later commented, "but I found out it was mighty hard pickin' it." In California, he went to work for a dairy where there were 80 cows to milk both morning and night, seven days a week. At this time, he stayed with his Uncle Charley and Aunt Ruby Parks. They lived 2 miles from the dairy. Since Arlo had no horse to ride, he had to learn to ride a bicycle. He believed that this task was as difficult as the work at the dairy. About a month later, he parked the bike and went to live with his Uncle Bill and Aunt Midge Thomas at Buena Park.
When his Uncle Fred was ready to return to Oklahoma, Arlo decided to stay in California and join his Uncle Ed, who was foreman on a hog ranch in Saugus. They had 4,000 hogs to care for. He worked there until April 1946, then went back to Buena Park and worked for a plant that made dairy feed from oranges. Arlo, now age 16, worked 12-15 hours a day, stacking 100 pound sacks of dried orange peels. Here, he made $90 a week. At that time this was good pay, so pickin' was a little easier now.
While here, he received a letter from his parents that Wilbur May wanted Arlo to go to work for him, so he boarded a train and headed for Alva. Bill Shadid and Kamas picked him up at the Alva depot. He liked working for Wilbur because he went to rodeos almost every weekend. Wilbur would enter the calf roping and would encourage Arlo to enter junior calf roping. Many times, Arlo would win the event and would sometimes win the senior calf roping.
In 1947, Arlo now 17, went on wheat harvest to Wyoming with Slim Thornberry, and Tony and Peggy Bradt. On their return, he hauled wheat for a while at Holly, Colorado. It was a bumper crop there, but Freedom Rodeo time was nearing, so he bought a bus ticket to Buffalo, Oklahoma; "hitched" a ride to Camp Houston with trucker Lee Benton; "footed" it to Geoffrey and Ruth Darr's home and made it to the rodeo just in time for junior calf roping.
The following November 1947, Arlo went to work for Lewis Omey at Kalvesta, Kansas. On his way, his fan belt broke. He had only $2 in his pocket, and it cost $1.50 to get it fixed. He needed gas too, so that took the remaining 50 cents, and it was a full month until pay day. After leaving the Omeys, he returned to Freedom and worked for a time for the Kamas Brothers and his Uncle Hank French. In 1951 he worked for Rudy Eden. He thought Rudy to be a very generous man because he would send him to neighbors to help work calves – neighbors such as Levi London, Gene Earnest, Marty Fulton, Ed Gaskill and Kamas Brothers. Arlo says Rudy was good to him, and offered to keep him if he didn't find work.
In July of 1952, he went to work for Simpson Walker Sr. Here, he began to feel some stability in his future, so on August 9, 1952, he married his girlfriend, Verlene Stewart. The couple spent 17 years on the Walker Ranch, where Arlo was foreman. He says, "Simpson was a very special man, and he was good to me. He made me feel like I was part of the family." In the fall of 1954, Simpson gave him a heifer calf, and one each year while he was employed on the ranch.
In 1969, Sheriff Clyde Vore went to the ranch and offered Arlo a job as deputy sheriff of Woods County. Arlo accepted, and the family moved to Alva. Later, when Vore retired, Arlo was elected sheriff. Just before his term of sheriff ended, he and police officers Bob Keltch and Mike Dooley, and Trooper John Eddings, received an order to take a suspect into protective custody. During the encounter, Arlo was badly wounded, and was taken to the hospital where Dr. Hinkle and Dr. Simon performed surgery. He was later transferred to Enid. Constantly by his side was his wife, Verlene, and his sister, Coleta, and her husband, Gene Province. During this ordeal, his main vocal concern seemed to be, "Who is feeding my bird dog?"
In 1975, Arlo was elected marshal and chief of police for the City of Alva. He served as chief of police from 1975 until he retired in 2007. In 1996, Arlo was elected "Citizen of the Year;" in 1998, "Law Enforcement Officer of the Year;" in 2003, "Honored Old Cowhand;" and in 2015 was presented "Lifetime Recognition as Parade Chairman." Arlo was a member of Town and Country Christian Church. He seved on the Citizens Advisory Board of the Bill Johnson Correctional Center. Arlo was arena flagman for the Freedom Rodeo for 37 years. Until recently, whenever there was a funeral in Freedom, Arlo faithfully drove to Camp Houston and directed traffic on U.S. Highway 64 so that the funeral procession could cross the highway without a problem.
Arlo is preceded in death by his parents, brothers Neil and Bill Jr, and sisters and their spouses Joyce Riley, Laveta Parker, Juanita Beer and Jack Beer, Co Province and Gene Province. He is survived by his wife Verlene (in August would have been their 64th wedding anniversary); son Shawn and his wife Paula of Alva; daughter Shelley Wyckoff and her husband David of Edmond; very special friend who has been like a daughter to him for 37 years Tanya Phillips of Alva; grandchildren Darra Wyckoff-Bingham of Edmond, Stephen and Lisa Darr, Chris Darr, Jeremy Darr, Sadie and J.C. Crusinberry all of Alva; great-grandsons Colton Bingham and Degan Darr; brothers Lewie and Lana of Coldwater, Kansas, and Jim Darr of Freedom; and many cousins, nieces, nephews and friends.
Instead of flowers the family requests that contributions be made to the Freedom Fire and Ambulance Department.
Verlene Faye Darr © Alva Review-Courier 05-2019 Submitted by: Glenn
© Alva Review-Courier
Visitation will be Friday, May 3, 2019, from 6-7:30 p.m. at Wharton Funeral Chapel.
Funeral services for Verlene Faye Darr will be Saturday, May 4, 2019, at 2 p.m. at Freedom United Methodist Church with Reverend Scott Ware officiating. Burial will follow in Freedom Cemetery under the direction of Wharton Funeral Chapel. Online condolences may be made at http://www.whartonfuneralchapel.com.
Verlene Faye, daughter of Ina (Tegarden) and George Stewart was born July 14, 1934 in Freedom, Oklahoma. She passed away April 27, 2019, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, at the age of 84 years, 9 months and 13 days.
She attended Freedom Schools and was the Freedom Rodeo Queen in 1951. Verlene graduated from Freedom High School with the class of 1952.
On August 9, 1952, Verlene married Arlo Darr. To their marriage two children, Shelley and Shawn were born. They lived on the Walker Ranch in Freedom until moving to Alva in 1969.
Verlene worked at Anthony's and Stage until she retired in 2000. Following her retirement she belonged to the Red Hat Society, International Beta-Sigma-Phi Sorority, and numerous other clubs.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Arlo; her oldest brother Earnest Stewart; her twin brother Verle Stewart.
Verlene is survived by her daughter Shelley and David Wyckoff, of Edmond; her son, Shawn and Paula Darr of Alva; six grandchildren: Darra and Michael Bingham, of Edmond, Steve and Lisa Darr, Chris Darr, Jeremy Darr, Sadie Crusinbery and J.C. Crusinbery, all of Alva; five great grandchildren: Colton and Callie Bingham, Degan, Alexandria and Everleigh Darr. She is also survived by a sister-in-law, Lana Darr, of Coldwater, Kansas; a brother-in-law Jim Darr, of Freedom, two special nephews, Gene Stewart and his wife Carol and George Stewart, all of California; other nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.
Memorial contributions may be made in her memory to Freedom Fire & Ambulance.
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