Obituaries

Betty Lou Smith was born in Oklahoma City at the height of the Great Depression on May 8, 1929, to her parents, Dolph and Pearl (Overturf) Smith. Times were hard for the farming family and Betty learned to follow the motto: “Use it up, wear it out, make do or do without!”

She went to school at Richland, Riverside and El Reno, and graduated from Yukon High School. She was active in the 4-H Club, winning honors in speech and sewing. She loved horses and cattle, and she often reminisced about riding a horse to school at Riverside.

Edward “Eddie” Eugene Walker was born June 21, 1972, to Ed and Linda Walker and passed away Jan. 26, 2022.

Eddie graduated from high school in 1992 and went on to serve in the U.S. Army and Navy.

He enjoyed bowling and going to the casino with his family and friends.

He had a big heart and loved to help his family and friends in any way he could.

Funeral services for Ronald Joe Taylor of Amber were held Saturday at First Missionary Baptist Church in Pocasset, with burial following at the Friendship Cemetery southwest of Minco. Services were under the direction of Huber-Reynolds Funeral Home.

Ron passed away Jan. 25, 2022, at St. Anthony’s Hospital, Oklahoma City. He was born June 11, 1939, in Minco. He grew up in Minco, graduating from Minco High School in 1957.

Funeral services for Gloria Jean Verser of Minco will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at First Baptist Church in Minco, with burial following at the Evergreen Cemetery. Services are under the direction of Huber-Reynolds Funeral Home.

Gloria passed away Jan. 26, 2022, at the Integris Canadian Valley Hospital in Yukon, She was born April 6, 1943, in Chickasha. Gloria grew up in towns all over the United States as her father was in the military. She graduated from Minco High School in 1961.

Bessie Louise Gilliam Jenkins passed from this life on Jan. 20, 2022. She was born Sept. 1, 1933, in Bells, Texas, to William Neal Gilliam, a farmer, and Ola Mae Belsher Gilliam, a teacher. Growing up in rural Texas, Bess was encouraged by her mother to pursue her interest in teaching, telling her that next to the ministry, teaching was one of the highest “callings” one could have.

Wayne William Albrecht passed from this life on Jan. 21, 2022, at the age of 84. He was born to Earnest and Bessie (Stack) Albrecht on Aug. 21, 1937, in Woodbine, Kan., the youngest of four children. He graduated from high school in Herington, Kan., and enlisted in the U.S. Army where he spent part of his service in South Korea.

Bennie Lee Cullen Sr., loving father and husband, passed away Jan. 25, 2022. Born in Chickasha to parents, Freddie and Edna Cullen on Jan. 3, 1948, Bennie grew up in El Reno.

A proud Army veteran, Bennie served his country in Vietnam as a mechanic. Once he was back home, he spent his teenage and early 20s carrying on with that career as a mechanic and eventually working as a farmer, which he did for over 20 years.

He also worked for Canadian County as a heavy equipment operator/road grader for over 20 years and retired from this in February of 2020.

T.D. Gordon Meadows (“The Tractor Man”) was born July 8, 1930, in Granite, Ark., and passed away Jan. 20, 2022, at his home in El Reno with his family by his side.

Gordon married Carol Ann Daugherty Hutchings in El Reno on Feb. 25, 1977. He owned Sunset Auto Center and worked there for 43 years. He enjoyed buying and selling tractors.

Gordon is survived by his wife, Carol Meadows and his children, as well as two brothers and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Katherine “Kathy” Joyce Biller passed away peacefully on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022, at the age of 80.

Kathy was born to parents, Buster and Eileen White in El Reno on March 8, 1941.

She attended El Reno High School, graduating in 1959. She married Gene Elmenhorst in April 1960 and they had one daughter, Trudi.

A few years following Gene’s death, Kathy married Joe Biller on Aug. 5, 1965. They shared 56 years of marriage together and had three daughters, Lori, Jamie and Kerri.

Memorial services for Helen Irene Maher will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022, at El Reno Wesley United Methodist Church.

Helen passed away Dec. 25, 2021, in Lakewood, Colo. She was born Dec. 31, 1934, in Lawrence, Kan., to Dorothy and James Weed. She grew up in El Reno, living in housing at the Federal Penitentiary where her father was an officer. She loved telling people she grew up at “a penitentiary.”