Obituaries

Billy Joe Hardin passed away on Wednesday, July 27, 2022, at the age of 65. Bill was born Nov. 22, 1956.

He married his wife, Nancy, in 1975 and was a longtime resident of El Reno.

Bill began working at Cavin’s Paint-n-Body Shop in 1973 when he was only 17. In 2003, he bought the body shop from Harold Cavin. He took great pride in his work and enjoyed serving his customers. Bill and Nancy had two boys, B.J. and Wes, and adopted their granddaughter, Amanda (Aydin). Nancy was the love of his life, and his kids were his pride and joy.

Roberta Mae Shelley Grulkey, 87, was born in El Reno to Roy R. Shelley and Ollie Lee Lawson Shelley on Aug. 28, 1934, and passed away at her home on July 28, 2022.

Roberta was a lifetime resident and 1954 graduate of El Reno High School.

She married Carl C. Grulkey Sr. on April 5, 1956, and they were together for 51 years until his passing in 2007. 

Roberta enjoyed find-a-word puzzles, car rides, big foot hunting and spending time with her granddaughter, Crystal.

Funeral services for Rhoda Mae Youngbird Braxton were held Monday at the Emergency Response Center in Concho. Burial followed at Concho Cemetery under the direction of Huber-Benson Funeral Home.

Rhoda died July 27, 2022, at her home in Kingfisher. She was born May 9, 1941, in Concho. She was a homemaker and participated in Cheyenne Traditional Ceremonies. She was a member of the Native American Church.

Juanita L. Miklaucic Heckes, 75, departed her earthly life July 18, 2022, after braving a long illness.

Born May 29, 1947, in Walsenburg, Colo., Juanita was the youngest of seven children born to Joseph and Anna Miklaucic. She grew up in Lehigh, Okla., and graduated from Coalgate High School, Coalgate, Okla.

She married Irvin “Wes” Heckes and they enjoyed 48 years of travel and working together in all their businesses. They enjoyed many trips in their motorhome, flying to their lake home and airplane trips to fly-ins all over the country.

Graveside services for Traci R. Cooper of El Reno will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 6 at the El Reno Cemetery Pavilion with Dick Kurtz officiating.

Traci passed away July 24, 2022, in El Reno. She was born April 22, 1971, in Okarche.

She is survived by her sister, Deana Cooper, and brother, Brian Cooper; nephews, Jacobi and Dacus Cooper; and niece, Kylea Scott and husband, Spencer, and their children, Pacey and Houston Scott.

Funeral services for Kendall Lee Brown will be held at 2 p.m. Friday, July 29, 2022, at First Pentecostal Church of God in El Reno with Rev. Kevin Fouts officiating. Burial with military honors will follow in the El Reno Cemetery. Services are under the direction of Huber-Benson Funeral Home.

Kendall was born Sept. 22, 1938, in Rush Springs to Fred Lee and Mildred Bertha (Sorrels) Brown. He died July 26, 2022, in El Reno at the age of 83.

Georgia Ann (Rund) Rother, 85, passed away on Friday, July 22, 2022, in Ponca City, with family and friends by her side.

She was born in Okarche on April 1, 1937, to John and Georgia (Barrackman) Rund.

She grew up in Okarche and attended Holy Trinity Catholic School. Her brothers coined the nickname Shorty that stuck with her her whole life.

Memorial services for Jerry D. Mitchell will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Flower Mound Family Funeral Home, Flower Mound, Texas.

Jerry passed away July 16, 2022. He was born Jan. 11, 1936, in Goodland, Kan.

He graduated from El Reno High School in 1952 and began working for the Rock Island Railroad, Frisco Railroad, Burlington Northern Railroad, MKT (Katy) Railroad, Union Pacific Railroad, then back to Burlington Northern Railroad until retirement in 1996. Seven years later he worked for Avis Rental Car for an additional 20 years, retiring permanently in 2018.

James Curtis Taylor (JT) passed away Friday, July 15, 2022, at Saint Francis Hospital in Tulsa, surrounded by his sons and family.

JT was born July 22, 1958, in Okarche, Okla., to Thomas (Tom) Taylor and Darlene Ward Nail. He attended schools in Denver, Colo., Bailey, Colo., and Union City, Okla.

As a young man he worked as a miner at Henderson Molybdenum Mine in Empire, Colo., before returning to his home state of Oklahoma where he worked in construction.

Mary Elizabeth Meyer went to her heavenly home on Wednesday, July 20, 2022, in Kingfisher, Okla. She was born Aug. 2, 1936, in Calumet, Okla., also known as “God’s Country,” to Andrew and Mildred (Perkins) Laub.

Mary attended Mt. View Rural School and graduated from Sacred Heart High School in 1954.

She married Melvin Paul Meyer of Okarche on April 24, 1959. Melvin and Mary were married for 55 years. There were blessed with four children. They farmed and ran a Grade A Dairy in the Okarche area, retiring in 2007.