Obit of White, Farris E. - Grady County, Oklahoma

Submitted by:  Vanita White Hazelrigg  <VHazelr844@aol.com>   17 Dec 2006
Return to Grady County Archives:
http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/grady/grady.html
==========================================================================
                             USGENWEB NOTICE
                     Copyright.  All rights reserved.
             http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
==========================================================================
::Verden Cemetery--Verden OK

The Anadarko Newspaper Volume 67, Number 62 Wednesday, November 9, 1966

Farris E. White

Cement Man Dies Inside Oil Tank

CEMENT- Services will be held here Saturday for a Cement oil field worker 
who fell through the rusted top of an oil storage tank a mile south of 
here Tuesday and was asphyxiated by strong fumes inside the huge tank.

Farris E. White, 46, the father of five children was already dead when he 
was pulled from the tank about 10 minutes after he crashed through the 
metal top.

Deputy Sheriff C. W. Taylor said workers told him White was on top of the 
tank working a hose being used to fill the tank with oil when the roof of 
the tank gave way.

White apparently grabbed desperately for a nearby pipe, but his oil-
covered rubber gloves came off and he fell about 10 feet into the tank, 
which contained about one and a half feet of oil.

Another worker, Roy Stewart, Who was working on the ground told Taylor he 
heard a tapping sound and began to look for White.

When he got to the top of the tank and saw the hole, he realized that 
White was inside the tank, Taylor said Stewart and J.G. James, pumper on 
the rig, quickly unbolted a metal door on the side and pulled White's body 
from the tank.

White was employed by the Robertson Tank and Truck Company, of Cement and 
was helping clean the oil storage tanks, which are owned by the Gulf 
Petroleum Company.

Services are scheduled to be held in the Assembly of God Church here at 
10: a.m. Saturday with Rev. H. C. Eslinger, pastor, officiating. Burial 
will be in the Verden Cemetery with the Cyril Funeral Home in charge of 
arrangements.

White was born in Verden, Dec. 3, 1919, and had farmed until 1956 when he 
moved to Cement and went to work for the local firm.

He was graduated from Cement High School in 1940 and was a veteran of 
World War II. He was married to the former Rosie Newberry May 2, 1947.

Survivors include his wife; four daughters, Mrs. Veronica Bowen, of 
Springfield, Ark., and Barbara, Vanita, and Vickie White, all of the home; 
a son, Buddy, of the home; his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ben White, of Cement; 
five sisters, Mrs. Lloyd Holmes and Mrs. Doc. Cooper, both of Cement, Mrs. 
J.D. Sechrist, of Apache, Mrs. Melvina White, of Oklahoma City, and Mrs. 
Carol Settles of Kingfisher; and five brothers, Ellis, of Price, Utah, 
Wayne, of Chickasha, Bedford of Anadarko, Kenneth of Tulsa and George of 
Kingfisher.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Return to Grady County Archives:
http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/grady/grady.html