Sam Mitchell

Funeral service for Sam D. Mitchell, Jr., age 83, of Frederick, Oklahoma, will be at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, May 19, 2009, at the First Christian Church, Frederick, Oklahoma, with Rev. Les Banks, officiating. Mr. Mitchell passed away Saturday morning, May 16, 2009, at his home in Frederick. Burial with Masonic rites will be at the Frederick Memorial Cemetery under the direction of Gray Gish Funeral Home. He was born on January 8, 1926, to Samuel Dawson and Jesse (Hankins) Mitchell, Sr., in Frederick, Oklahoma. He attended Frederick elementary school and junior high, and graduated high school at Victory Consolidated No. 11 School. He entered the United States Navy in April 1944, trained in San Diego, California and served in the Admiralties, New Guinea, Leyte and Luzon. After his honorable military service, he was discharged and awarded the Asiatic Pacific Ribbon, American Defense and Victory Ribbons. In 1949, he met and married Wilma Esteline Lambert at the Northside Methodist Church. They lived in rural Davidson, Oklahoma, and were very active in the Victory Community. Sam worked as a farmer and in 1965, they moved to Stillwater. Sam continued his education obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in Ag Economics from Oklahoma State University. He was an inspector for the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture and moved to Woodward, Oklahoma, in 1968, before returning to Frederick to live in 1970. After his retirement, he invested his time and energy to his beekeeping. He was most proud of his "Tillman County Cotton Honey." He was a 32nd Degree Mason and member of the Frederick Masonic Lodge #249, and he was a member of the First Christian Church of Frederick. He was preceded in death by: his parents; his wife Wilma on October 6, 2008; and two sisters: Doris Nye and Pauline Garton. He is survived by a son: Trey and wife Becky, of Spring, Texas; two daughters: Pam Johnson and husband Mike, of Frederick, Oklahoma, and Samia Woodall, of Lawton, Oklahoma; five grandchildren: Ty Johnson, of Dallas, Texas; Clay Johnson and wife Shonda, of Collinsville, Oklahoma; Shea Woodall and wife Kindra, of Frederick, Oklahoma; Ryan Mitchell and wife Katie, of Nacogdoches, Texas, and Sydni Mitchell, also of Nacogdoches; one great granddaughter: Quinlin Ruth Johnson, of Collinsville, Oklahoma. Memorial contributions may be made to the Tillman County Historical Society, Box 833, Frederick, OK 73542, in loving memory of Sam Mitchell.