Obituary for Charles Edward Cooksey
Charles Cooksey passed away February 25, 2023 in Stillwater, OK. A memorial service will be held at a later date.
Charles was born on December 9, 1926 in Jaybuckle Springs, Greer County, Oklahoma. His parents were Charley Washington Cooksey and Hattie Zona Bowling.
Charles grew up on a farm outside of Reed, Oklahoma. When he was 14 years old Charles rode his horse Dynamite to school to retrieve the school bus and collect the other children each morning for school. He graduated from Reed School in 1944.
Charles attended Oklahoma Agriculture and Mechanical College serving as a volunteer firefighter at the Oklahoma A&M on campus Firehouse. He then joined the Navy in 1945 as an Orderly in the Medical Corps.
He met and married Gloria Lois Gibson on June 2, 1945. He was stationed at the South Base in Norman, Oklahoma for one year. Charles was then released from duty and he returned to Oklahoma A&M to study, having two daughters Charlie Anne and Mary Kathleen with his wife Gloria and studying Agriculture until 1952, while working at The Aggie and The Leachman movie theaters and various ranch jobs during the summers.
When he was six (6) months from graduating, he was pulled back into the Navy for the Korean War from 1952-54 when he was deployed to Mare Island Base in San Francisco Bay serving as a Corpsman, honorably discharged at the end of that conflict.
After graduation, Charles worked for over 40 years for the United States Department of Agriculture in the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (USDA, ASCS), first as a County Agent working with farmers in Frederick and Newkirk (Tillman & Kay Counties) then moved to the State office in Stillwater OK. Charles and Gloria welcomed a boy Thomas and a girl Jana while in Newkirk, and moved to Stillwater in 1971.
By the end of 1985 Charles' 4 children had graduated from university, while Charles had been the first in his family to graduate in 1954.
Charles Cooksey was preceded in death by Gloria, his wife of 36 years, in 1982.
In June 1985, Charles married Audrey Angela More of Newkirk, Ok. They remained married until her death on February 3, 2022, a marriage of 36 years. Charles loved playing golf, horses, his church family and giving out candy to the children that attended Eagle Heights Baptist Church in Stillwater, Ok. He remained an Elder and Charter Member of Eagle Heights until his retirement from there at 90 years old.
He is preceded in death by both wives Gloria and Audrey, his son Thomas Edward Cooksey and two grandchildren Abby and Isaac Hunt.
He is survived by his children Charlie Anne Cooksey of Norman, OK, Mary Kathleen Hunt and her husband Rev. Robert I Hunt of Tijeras, NM, and Jana Kay Cooksey of Tijeras, NM, as well as 6 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren.
Charles was born on December 9, 1926 in Jaybuckle Springs, Greer County, Oklahoma. His parents were Charley Washington Cooksey and Hattie Zona Bowling.
Charles grew up on a farm outside of Reed, Oklahoma. When he was 14 years old Charles rode his horse Dynamite to school to retrieve the school bus and collect the other children each morning for school. He graduated from Reed School in 1944.
Charles attended Oklahoma Agriculture and Mechanical College serving as a volunteer firefighter at the Oklahoma A&M on campus Firehouse. He then joined the Navy in 1945 as an Orderly in the Medical Corps.
He met and married Gloria Lois Gibson on June 2, 1945. He was stationed at the South Base in Norman, Oklahoma for one year. Charles was then released from duty and he returned to Oklahoma A&M to study, having two daughters Charlie Anne and Mary Kathleen with his wife Gloria and studying Agriculture until 1952, while working at The Aggie and The Leachman movie theaters and various ranch jobs during the summers.
When he was six (6) months from graduating, he was pulled back into the Navy for the Korean War from 1952-54 when he was deployed to Mare Island Base in San Francisco Bay serving as a Corpsman, honorably discharged at the end of that conflict.
After graduation, Charles worked for over 40 years for the United States Department of Agriculture in the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (USDA, ASCS), first as a County Agent working with farmers in Frederick and Newkirk (Tillman & Kay Counties) then moved to the State office in Stillwater OK. Charles and Gloria welcomed a boy Thomas and a girl Jana while in Newkirk, and moved to Stillwater in 1971.
By the end of 1985 Charles' 4 children had graduated from university, while Charles had been the first in his family to graduate in 1954.
Charles Cooksey was preceded in death by Gloria, his wife of 36 years, in 1982.
In June 1985, Charles married Audrey Angela More of Newkirk, Ok. They remained married until her death on February 3, 2022, a marriage of 36 years. Charles loved playing golf, horses, his church family and giving out candy to the children that attended Eagle Heights Baptist Church in Stillwater, Ok. He remained an Elder and Charter Member of Eagle Heights until his retirement from there at 90 years old.
He is preceded in death by both wives Gloria and Audrey, his son Thomas Edward Cooksey and two grandchildren Abby and Isaac Hunt.
He is survived by his children Charlie Anne Cooksey of Norman, OK, Mary Kathleen Hunt and her husband Rev. Robert I Hunt of Tijeras, NM, and Jana Kay Cooksey of Tijeras, NM, as well as 6 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren.