Mr. Cecil Ray Key, 92, one of the "Greatest Generation," passed into the waiting arms of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on April 3, 2015 after a brief illness, surrounded in his final days by his loving family.
Born on April 20, 1922 in Bixby, Oklahoma to Harry and Rose (Heath) Key, he was raised in Dewey with his five siblings, most of whom preceded him in death (Louis Key, Thelma Jordan, Doris Burrow, and Edith Reed). He is survived by his youngest brother, Carl Key. In 2011 he lost his loving wife of 68 years.
On August 11, 1941, Cecil married Helen Letha Fielder in Sedan, Kansas. Shortly after he left to serve his country in WWII as a paratrooper in the 17th Airborne. He completed 17 jumps, including jumping behind enemy lines in Nazi, Germany. He was awarded the Purple Heart for shrapnel injuries in the Battle of the Bulge. After returning from the war, he fulfilled a commitment to God, made in a foxhole in Germany, to live for Him. In succession, he and Helen became youth sponsors. Later, he became an Elder in the First Christian Church in Dewey. When a small congregation in Bartlesville, Memorial Christian Church, was without a pastor, he volunteered, and continued pastoring there for 25 years while also working full time in Tulsa. He worked at Dewey Portland Cement until the plant closed and then with Martin Marietta until his retirement in 1981.
Cecil loved the outdoors and shared that love with his children and grandchildren spending countless hours in the garden and on his patio. Among his many talents was his ability to duplicate an owl call so convincingly that he, on some occasions, actually called owls from far away, into his proximity. He spent many decades hunting turkey, deer and quail. He learned to fly fish at age 88, and at 91, returned to Canada for his last of more than 20 trips. He also enjoyed many summer trout fishing trips to the Rocky Mountains with his family.
Cecil was a man of God, who loved to study the Bible and could often be heard quoting memorized scripture. When asked once how he could be so sweet natured while some of his seniority were not, he replied, "I love Jesus too much to be mean." He was a captivating story teller, with an infectious laugh that will never be forgotten by his family.
He is survived by three daughters: Cheryl Hicks of McAllen, Texas and her husband Bill; Daphne Sholl of Tulsa and her husband David; and Melanie Maxwell of Bartlesville and her husband Jim; seven grandchildren; Suzanne (Hicks) Prado, Claire (Hicks) Ramirez, Nick and Angela (Sholl) Kennedy, Kevin and Ashley (Sholl) Lemaster, Adam and Lara Sholl, Ryan and Holly (Maxwell) Linders and Lance and Katie (Maxwell) Lutke; eighteen great grandchildren, and four great great grandchildren.
Visitation will be at Stumpff Funeral Home, Bartlesville on Monday, April 6, from 6 PM to 8 PM. Funeral services will be held at East Bartlesville Christian Church, on Tuesday, April 7, at 2 PM with Pastor Jerl Joslin of Oklahoma City officiating. Graveside services will follow at the Dewey Cemetery where full military rites will be accorded by the Ceremonial Detail of the James H. Teel American Legion Post # 105.
Casket escorts will include Jim Beeler, Jerry Dean, Dee Williams, Larry Stumpff, Roger Ropp and Sam Gaskill. Honorary casket escort will be David Brackemyre.
Memorial funds have been established and those who wish may send their contribution to Voice of the Martyrs at P.O. Box 443, Bartlesville, Oklahoma, 74005 or to Mid India Christian Mission at P.O. Box 26447, Fresno, California 93729.
Friends who wish may sign the online guest book and leave condolences at www.stumpff.org
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