ROBERT EARL POWERS, JR., 80, passed away April 12,
1998, at home in his easy chair, with interment at
Hydro Masonic Cemetery, Hydro, OK.
He was born Nov. 4, 1917 to Robert E. & Henrietta
(Patton) Powers in Muskogee, OK. He worked, as a
young man, in the oil fields with his father in Texas
and Oklahoma. He spent several years in Ranger, TX
and if you had ever been to Texas, he would surely
ask you if you knew where Ranger was. “They were
football champs in 1934, you know,” he would say.
He attended Ranger High School in the Class of 1933.
Throughout the traveling with the oil fields, he
finally graduated high school in 1936 from Shawnee
High School in Oklahoma. Robert married Luella Ditmore
in Nov. of 1948 in Okla. City, OK. He brought his
family to Okla. City in 1956 to be a service manager
for Red Barnes Tire Co. Later he was plant manager
for Hamilton/Ditmore Mfg. making gas fire logs.
Robert enjoyed tinkering, fixing and inventing things.
There wasn’t a rusty bolt or nut he couldn’t loosen.
He could fix any household appliance or power tool with
a piece of coat hanger, scrap of tin or handmade part.
He never threw anything away and his garage is evidence
of this. He still had a transmission from a 1942 Cadillac
that he drove in 1957. His wonderful sense of humor will
be missed by all who knew him. He never lost sight of
things he wanted to accomplish and lived everyday he had
to the fullest of his ability. The values and morals that
he instilled in his children was the guiding force that
has allowed us all to become who we are today.
At the time of his death, he was survived by his wife,
Luella, of the home; 2 sons, Jack Buckner & wife, Linda,
Canon City, CO, Robert Earl Powers, III & wife Diane,
Edmond, OK; 2 daughters; Glenda Kelley & husband, Don,
Weatherford, OK; and Judy Powers, Oklahoma City, OK; 5
grandsons; Kenneth Buckner, Wilcox, AZ; Terry Buckner,
Worcester, MA; Justin Powers, Edmond, OK; Dustin Buckner
& Dillon Buckner, both of Canon City, CO; 9 granddaughters,
Cindy Buxton, Ft. Smith, AR; Susan Nickell, Mesa, AZ; Julie
Kelley, Oklahoma City, OK; Richelle Jones, Kapolei, HI;
Robbie Elrod, Keller, TX; Sara Powers, Tulsa, OK; Aili
Anton, Plano, TX; Kelly Buckner & Katie Buckner, both of
Canon City, CO; 14 great-grandchildren; a sister, Dorothy
Powers Patterson (RHS-1931), Oklahoma City, OK. He was
preceded in death by his parents and a sister, Betty Jean
Powers.
My dad’s most favorite childhood memory must have been of
Ranger, TX. He spoke of Ranger, often. My dad had polio
as a small child, and was always the smallest in his class.
He walked with a limp, but this never hindered him from doing
anything he set his mind to.
Just a few months prior to his death, we planned a trip back
to Ranger. Although he was sure he wouldn’t recognize anything,
he still wanted to return. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it
long enough for that trip. But buried with him, along with
his pocket knife, was a map of Ranger, TX. Judy Powers Ditmore