My Dad....The Best Dad Ever!!!!

On October 1, 1923 in a little house beside a canyon in the countryside west of Gracemont, Oklahoma the first child of Oscar and Essie Deason was born.  A son, Gilbert "Jack" Deason made this couple a family.  I really don't know to much about those days.  I wish I had asked more questions to my dad and my grandparents.  I know that he was a very special person.  I also know that by the time he was 4 they had moved to the hill just south of Foster School, in Grandview township.  I also know that I never had to listen to stories from him about how far he walked to school because it was only about a 1/4 mile walk down the hill for him.

Jack started to school in the fall of 1929 at Foster.  He was a 5 year old first grader.  He did not turn 6 until October 1, of that same year.  I'm guessing that he loved to learn and or he was a little nosey.  He, of course, was in a one room school house.  He listened to the teacher when she was teaching 1st grade, but also when she was teaching 2nd grade.  When school started back in 1930 he was moved up to 3rd grade.  So here he was a 6 year old 3rd grader.  I was told that he was very smart.  Too bad I didn't get those genes from him.  He attended Foster for 7 years.

At this time, the kids who went to school at Foster went on to Fort Cobb for high school. He must have met my mom when he started there in 9th grade.  She lived about 5 miles away, but Oscar and Essie went to Anadarko when they went to town and I think that Luther and Wilma went to Fort Cobb to shop and church.  Anyway, Maye was 17 and Jack was 16 when they graduated in 1940 from Fort Cobb High School.  He went to Stillwater to Oklahoma A&M and she went to Cameron in Lawton.

Dad & I when I was about 2

I don't know all of the story but I do know that Maye and Jack got married on August 16, 1942 in Lawton, Oklahoma.  One of mom's cousins and her husband went with them to find someone to marry them and were their witnesses.  Then they lived in Stillwater while dad was going to college.  Mervin was born in 1944.  Dad had come back home to farm before he ended up having to go to the Navy during WWII.

About 1968

Eventually they made their way back to that same section of land that Dad had grown up on.  David was born in 1948 and then I finally came along in 1954.  Our dad was one of those men that everyone looked up to.  He was an elder at our church in Anadarko, President of the Oney School Board, 1st President of Caddo County Farm Bureau, President of the Oklahoma Shorthorn Association, and on the National Board of Directors for the Shorthorn Association.

About 1968 with my pair of heifers.

He taught us kids so many things.  I know the boys learned many things about being a man from him.  We all worked on our farm together.  They boys had it much harder than me, but I did do my part.  My favorite memory is running down the road for 1/2 mile to ride the tractor back to the house with him.  He was always so calm.  He never raised his voice at me, never spanked me, never said an unkind work to me.  He called me Sister and he could make me feel bad for doing something wrong simply by saying "Sister you didn't need to do that."  I always wanted to please him.  He just had that effect on me.  God blessed me with the greatest dad ever.

Maye and Jack 1972

He died in 1975.  I was only 21 years old.  I only got to know him for 21 years, but they were great years.  He has been gone over 38 years.  I miss him like crazy.  I wish we had, had more time together but cherish the time we did have.  Today is his birthday so I just want to wish him "Happy Birthday" in Heaven.  I hope that Mom, Dad and Ryan are having a big party up there.

September 1975, one of the last pictures with my dad.  Ryan was a baby.