Walter Kirkendall Mounce~ ~ ~ 1904-1997

Thursday, November 13, 1997 © The Ponca City News

Submitted by: Tammie Chada

NEWKIRK -Walter Kirkendall Mounce, longtime Newkirk area resident, died early Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 11, 1997, at the Blackwell Regional Hospital in Blackwell. He was 93.

The funeral has been scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15, at the Peckham Christian Church with the Rev. Curtis Mason officiating. Burial is to follow at the Newkirk Cemetery under the direction of Miller-Stahl Funeral Service.

Walter K. Mounce was born Jan. 14, 1904, on the family homestead, south of Peckham. He was the son of Samuel Huston and Daisy (Kirkendall) Mounce. He grew up in the rural area attending Waddell Rural Grade School and graduating from University Prep School at Tonkawa. He then attended Oklahoma A&M College for three years where he participated in the ROTC program. After receiving his basic training at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, he began employment with Shell Oil Company in Arkansas City, Kansas.

On June 18, 1933, he was married to Nellie Elfa Walker in Arkansas City, Kan., where the couple established their first home. Four years later, Mounce was transferred by the oil company to Roxanna, ILL., then to Hobbs, N.M., seven years later. In 1946 the couple moved to Peckham where Mounce operated the Peckham Lumber Yard and sold real estate. He was a member of the Peckham Christian Church and Volunteer Fire Department and the Newkirk Historical Society.

Survivors include one son, Dr. Gary Joe Mounce of Edinburg, Texas; one daughter, Betty Jean Glasgow of Peckham; two sisters, Gussie Mason of Wichita, Kan., and Merle Harden of McPherson, Kan.; four grandchildren; and two great-grandsons. He was preceded in death by his wife, Nellie, on Aug. 31, 1995; his parents; and one brother, Jessie.

Casketbears will be Virgil Tanner, Clifton Gray, David Martin, Bill Bliss, Kenneth Fitch and Kris Mapel. Honorary bearers will be Kyce Goodno, Jack Breedlove, Edwin "Bud" Martin, Jay Mapel, Jim Martin and Glen Craft.

A memorial fund has been established in Mr. Mounce's name to the Peckham Christian Church, c/o Eastman National Bank, Box 468, Newkirk, OK. 74647