Vernon Lloyd Reeves

On August 9, 1934, in Perryton, Texas, Vernon Lloyd Reeves was born. He was the third child of Earl and Lenora Reeves. After the dust bowl in that part of the country, the family moved to the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. They lived in House #3 in the la-bor camp where Earl and Lenora could find work in the fields and fruit packing plants. He often talked about playing in the canals, picking fruit, and fishing on the river banks. At around the age of 15, while attending P.S.J.A. schools, Vernon started playing gui-tar and bass fiddle in a band playing music at square dances and other events, and later played with a band at the “Blue Moon Dance Hall” in Pharr, TX. When he was 16, he bought the first family car, a Studebaker, with the money he made playing music. It wasn’t long before a new family moved into House #1 in the Labor Camp. In that house was a beautiful young woman who would become the love of his life, Lorraine Stevenson. They fell in love and knew they would spend their lives together. But before they were married, Vernon joined the Navy and was away for 13 months, stationed in Adak, Alaska. While he was there, he played music with a Navy band at the “Club Bay-view.” He loved being outside, but there just weren’t enough places to fish in the cold climate. While on leave, he and Lorraine were married in San Juan, Texas on June, 30, 1955. He was then sent to San Diego, CA., where he attended Hospital Corps School. While in San Diego, their first child, Verna was born. Two years later, his time in the Navy was complete. His superiors urged him to continue his studies and become a doctor. But, he knew he was a family oriented man, and he didn’t like the idea of having the long hours away from his family. So, they decided to move to Oklahoma where both sets of parents had settled. Soon after, their son, Mike, was born in Oklahoma City, OK. Vernon was employed at the Oklahoma City Zoo for three years. He left there and was employed briefly at Tinker Air Force Base, then at FAA for 20 years, until he medi-cally retired in 1981. Their next three children, Dianna, Jeff, and Marcia, were all born in Oklahoma City. But life in the “big town” was taking a toll on him and the kids. He had always been used to wide open spaces, and he wanted a simpler life for his children. So, in 1966, they moved to a 50 acre “mini farm” on the outskirts of Meeker, OK, where their last child, Scott was born. Vernon’s parents were having problems finding work in Oklahoma City. And since he loved them and wanted them to be close to him in their golden years, he bought a house and had it moved to his place in Meeker, where his parents had an array of farm animals, and raised huge gardens, until they both passed away in 1976. That same year, Vernon began his walk with the Lord, when he was baptized in one of his farm ponds, by Eddie Tomlinson. He attended the Church of the Firstborn at Park-land, OK, Oklahoma City, and Choctaw, OK. He was a quiet man of faith, but he knew his Maker, and wasn’t afraid to tell you about it. Vernon LOVED to fish, loved his family, loved to fish, loved to go camping, loved to fish, but most of all, he loved to fish! Every year, without fail, he would take his family on a week-long vacation. It was usually to a primitive camp spot, using a tent and campfire, or at the ocean around Corpus Christi, TX, camped on the sand, but it was a vacation, none-the-less. Any place where he could fish. In 1980, he began feeling a little under the weather. He missed several days of work, so his supervisors told him to get checked out at the VA hospital. When he did, he did-n’t like what he heard. The doctors told him that he had kidney failure, and would most likely die within a couple of months. He told them that his God knew all about him, and he wouldn’t die until the Good Lord was ready for him. FAA gave him a full medical re-tirement in 1981. Through his faith, and many prayers of his family and friends, he re-covered from the kidney disease, and lived another 30 years! After his retirement and healing, Vernon and Lorraine bought a trailer house, and had it moved to a lot they purchased three blocks off the bay front in Seadrift, TX. They would stay the winter months there, and they made many friends in that little fishing village, and Vernon could fish to his heart’s content. Their kids didn’t like it when they were gone during those times, but they sure enjoyed the redfish, shark and shrimp they always brought back home! It was always a highlight in his life when he had all his kids around him. His trips to Texas took a brief hiatus, after his love of 41 years, passed away in 1997. But he soon remarried, and with his wife, Peggy, resumed his trips to the trailer, until his failing health forced him to sell it in 2009. On Friday, September 2, 2011, Vernon’s journey came to an end, peacefully, while in the VA Hospital in Oklahoma City. Vernon was preceded in death by his parents, Earl & Lenora Reeves; two brothers, Cecil and Temple Reeves; a brother-in-law, Gene Irvin; his wife, Lorraine; and a daughter, Verna Lynn Cooksey. He is survived by his wife, Peggy, of Meeker; three sons, Michael Reeves and wife Deborah of Meeker, OK; Jeffrey Reeves and wife, Judy, of Guthrie, OK; and Scott Reeves and wife, Kim, of Meeker, OK. Two daughters, Dianna Wright and husband, Steve, of Choctaw, OK; and Marcia Bond and husband, Gordon, of Guthrie, OK. One sister, Yvonne Irvin, of Blanchard, OK; and one sister-in-law, Ann Reeves, of Corpus Christi, TX. He was blessed with 16 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, and many who called him Uncle Vernon. He will be missed by all his loved ones, and all those who knew him as their friend.