Norman Clifford Widener was born August 31, 1916 in Durham, Oklahoma to Anthony Franklin "Tony" and Zelpha Armeda "Minnie" Norton Widener. He passed away June 3, 2012 at Cheyenne, Oklahoma at the age of 95 years, 9 months and 2 days.
Norman grew up and attended school at Durham.
He married Freda Evelyn Lewis at Sayre, Oklahoma on June 15, 1937 and to this union there were 5 children born, Elaine, Clifford, Glenn, Sharon and Pauline. They lived in Durham where he farmed.
Freda passed away on April 6, 1950 and Norman remained in Durham until 1954 when he moved to Cheyenne and worked at the feed mill for Elzie Campbell.
He met June Young Potts and they were married on January 22, 1955 in Sayre, Oklahoma. With this marriage, two more children were added to the family, Carolyn and Dale Potts, and the birth of Norman and June's daughter, Toni, completed the family.
They lived in Cheyenne for a short time before moving to Reydon where he was employed as a custodian at the Reydon School and also sold and repaired RCA TV's. They moved back to Cheyenne in 1965 to make their home. Norman became the custodian at the new Roger Mills Memorial Hospital and also drove the ambulance, retiring in 1990. He also continued his TV business as well as doing electrical wiring for homes and businesses.
After his retirement, Norman remained active in the community. He helped with restoration of the Roll One Room School and was named "Father of the Year" in 1997.
In addition to his first wife, he was preceded in death by his parents; a son, Dale Potts; a grandson, Daniel Leon Burrows; a son-in-law, Dalton Burrows; two brothers, Hugh and Austin Widener; and two sisters, Helen Watson and Myrtle Ray.
He is survived by his wife, June; his children, Elaine Wright and husband, Glen of Springfield, Oregon; Clifford Widener and wife, Crystal of Tuttle, Oklahoma; Glenn Widener and wife, Sharon of Katy, Texas; Sharon Hyland and husband, Bob of Ridgefield, Washington; Pauline Pennington and husband, Larry of Reydon, Oklahoma; Carolyn Burrows of Hammon, Oklahoma; Toni Swartwood and husband, Bill of Elk City, Oklahoma; grandchildren, Rick and Shirley Wright, Debbie Carr, Patti and Renn Morris, Mike Wright, Connie and Eddie Hargues, Callie and Ronnie Troglin, Cathey and Rodney Naico, Kim and Craig Piwonka, Michelle and Greig DeBow, Stephanie and Chris Pruneda, Shane and Meredith Hyland, Neal and Darla Pennington, Marty and Stephanie Pennington, Danita and Brandon Cloud, Dustin Burrows, Kara and Brian Smith, Brady and Jamie Swartwood; great grandchildren, Shana Wright, Elissa Wright, David and Yenny Wright, Kayla Carr, Nicole Brady, Michelle Brady, Amanda Lynch, Courtney Wright, Roper Hargues, Wyatt Hargues, Jacie Boyd, Caitlin Boyd, Carson Naico, Ethan Naico, Megan Piwonka, Sydney Piwonka, Jack DeBow, Morgan DeBow, Will Pruneda, Brooklyn Pruneda, Jackson Hyland, Morgan Hyland, Summer Pennington, Max Pennington, Cooper Pennington, Rowdy Cloud, Ty Cloud, Riley Cloud, Stockton Smith, Cord Smith, and baby Swartwood on the way; great great grandchildren, Aisha Wright, Khadijah Wright, Asiyah Wright and a host of other relatives and friends.
Services will be held Thursday, June 7, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. at Elk City First Assembly of God Church officiated by Rev. T. D. Gifford and Rev. Kevin Akins.
Burial will be at Cheyenne Cemetery under the direction of Whinery-Savage Funeral Service.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]