Obit of Sober, John G. - Stephens County, Oklahoma Submitted by: Gene Phillips 19 Jun 2005 Return to Stephens County Archives: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/stephens/stephens.htm ========================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ========================================================================== Duncan Banner 20 Jan 2003 John G. Sober WOODWARD — John G. Sober, 81, of Woodward, died Saturday, Jan. 18, 2003, in Grace Living Center in Woodward. Service will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday in Billings Funeral Home Chapel in Woodward with John Knox, pastor of Fifth Street Church of Christ, officiating. Burial will be in Elmwood Cemetery. John Godfrey Sober was born Aug. 21, 1921, on the family farm near Harmon in Ellis County. He was the first son of Ira and Winnie Davis O’Hair Sober of Harmon. John attended school at Parkman Country School. He made a decision as a young teen to work full time to help support his family of seven during the difficult depression years. In 1942, he traveled to California to fight for his country but he was not accepted into the services due to a massive childhood burn. He worked in the California shipyards for two years before returning to Oklahoma. Upon returning home, he met Esta June Fielder and they were married on Oct. 6, 1945, in Clayton, N.M. They celebrated 57 years together. Their first home was on the farm in Ellis County where their first child, Evelyn Janiece Sober, was born. John worked with cattle and crops before moving to Woodward in 1946. In Woodward, John built their first home of cement blocks. Nine months later, the Woodward tornado destroyed their home and all of their belongings, but spared John and his family. Rebuilding after the tornado, John worked as a cab driver, oil rig floor hand, truck driver, sewing machine salesman and was the credit manager for the Firestone Tire Store in Woodward for 15 years. In 1958, a son, Johnnie Craig Sober, was born to the union. In his later years John was a car salesman, owning and operating Midway Motors with a partner, Jack Parsons. John’s interest and passion was always in cattle and farming and he actively pursued that interest at his farm near Arnett. John and June had lived in Woodward for 56 years. Survivors include his wife of the home; two children and their spouses, Jan and Mike Bradstreet of Hinton and Craig and Sherri Sober of Duncan; five grandchildren, Russell Shafer of Woodward, Stephanie and Ronnie Troglin of Topeka, Kan.; Kelli Sober of Oklahoma City; Jennifer, Jordan and Jacy Sober, all of Duncan; four great-grandchildren, Sierra and Lexi Shafer of Shattuck and Dakota and Tayler Troglin of Topeka; a brother and sister-in-law, Jerry and Doris Sober of Douglas, Wyo.; three sisters and two brothers-in-law, Letha and Mike Buczinski, Dorothy Hanlon, and Patsy and Duane McFarland, all of Woodward; brothers-in-law and their spouses, Earl and Crystal Fielder of Farmington, N.M., Ed and Jane Fielder of Greeley, Colo., and Mirl and Sue Fielder of Lone Grove; and several nieces, nephews, other family and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents. Memorial contributions may be made to the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Cancer Research, with the Billings Funeral Home, 1621 Downs Ave., Woodward, OK 73801, as custodian. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to Stephens County Archives: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/stephens/stephens.htm