Rogers Co. Obit for: Tommy Wayne Masterson
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http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/rogers/rogers.htm
Rogers County Archivist: Bill Cook, wcook14024@aol.com
Submitted to the Rogers County Oklahoma Archives 
Date: 10/20/2002 by: Bill Cook, wcook14024@aol.com
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10/15/2002

Services for Tommy Wayne Masterson were 2 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2002 at Faith 
Baptist Church. Burial followed at Woodlawn Cemetery under the direction of Rice 
Funeral Service. 

Tommy passed away on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2002. He was 53.

Tommy was born on Dec. 22, 1948 at Center Ridge, Ark., to William and Louise 
Gault Masterson. He was reared and educated in Little Rock, spending his summers 
in Center Ridge. 

He joined the Marine Corps and served two tours of duty in Vietnam. Following 
his honorable discharge from the military, he returned home to begin attending 
college. 

Working days and attending school at night, he graduated from the University of 
Arkansas, earning a degree in both business and psychology. He began his career 
with the telephone company, working as a coin collector - later rising to the 
position of Sales Manager for AT&T. A dedicated employee for 32 years, Tom was 
looking forward to his upcoming retirement, this work would afford him the 
opportunity to be a full-time cattleman, a task more pleasure than work.

It was while working in New Jersey that Tom met Mary Jo Ruggiero and on April 
29, 1987 the couple were married in Easton, Pa. 

In 1988, the Masterson family moved to Claremore with Tom's transfer to Tulsa. 
The move allowed him to have his dream home in the rural areas of the community. 
He built a barn for his farm equipment, which the family affectionately calls 
his airplane hangar. 

When he wasn't working or spending time with his family, you'd find him in the 
garden, riding horses or nurturing his cattle on the farmland he leased from his 
best friend, Kenneth Turner.

Survivors of this compassionate, hardworking and honest family man are his wife, 
Mary Jo, of the their home in Claremore; children, Morgan, of Houston, and 
Rachel, of the home in Claremore; father, William "Bill" Masterson and his wife, 
Jesse, of Little Rock, Ark.; sisters, Anne Brantley of Conway, Ark., Barbara 
Stephens of Marietta, Ga., Karen Hall of Hot Springs, Ark., and Gwen Masterson 
of Little Rock; and mother-in-law, Amelia Ruggiero of Pangor, Pa. 

He was preceded in death by his mother, Louise Masterson.

In recognition of Tommy's love for 4-H, those who wish to honor his memory may 
do so by contributing to the 4-H Foundation, 219 S. Missouri, Rm. B-115, 
Claremore, OK 74017.
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Transcribed from the Claremore Progess Newspaper, we sincerely thank them
for allowing us to post these obits on the Rogers Co., OK USGenwebpages
http://www.claremoreprogress.com/
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