Charles F. Haley

Charles F. ìDickî Haley was born August 13, 1928 in Osage, Oklahoma. He was the son of Loyd ìJackî and Rena (Munds) Haley. Dick was raised and attended school in Osage, graduating from Osage High School in 1946. Upon graduation from high school, Dick attended school at the Chillicothe Business School in Missouri and then accepted employment with the M-K-T (KATY) railroad as a telegraph operator. He worked for the railroad for many years in various capacities until he was inducted in the service of his country in the 45th Infantry of the United States Army, serving as a Master Sergeant during the Korean War. Upon his honorable discharge, Dick returned to Osage and was married to Sue Taber on May 5, 1955 in Cleveland, Oklahoma as Dick resumed his position with the KATY railroad in Osage and the couple made their home there. The couple then moved to Parsons, Kansas when Dick was transferred to a position with the KATY in Parsons. In 1959, Dick accepted a position with the Rock Island Railroad as dispatcher in El Reno, Oklahoma. He was later appointed agent for the depot in Chickasha. As the station agent his responsibilities included managing the property, and overseeing the railroad employees - usually a clerk and perhaps another to handle baggage and the loading and unloading of freight. In many cases, the agent was also the telegraph operator, and this task had the highest priority because it often involved the safe movement of trains. The telegraph was used to communicate with the dispatcher, who controlled train movements throughout his assigned territory. As with many jobs of the era, the agent had a mountain of paperwork to attend to and keep current - tickets, waybills, telegraph messages, ledgers, tariffs, express forms, receipts, placards ñ the list was nearly endless In 1963, Dick was transferred to the Dallas Depot where he continued in the capacity of agent for nearly two years before being promoted to the position of Train Master at the Memphis terminal. As trainmaster his duties included safely seeing the arrival and departure of trains in and out of the terminal. This required constant contact with personnel such as the train crew, yardmasters, dispatchers and others. In 1969, Dick was transferred to the Little Rock Arkansas terminal as Assistant Superintendent, where he supervised over twenty-two hundred miles of train operations. Shortly thereafter, Dick was promoted to Senior Assistant Superintendent at the El Reno terminal in 1970 and then in 1972 to Superintendent of the Southern Division of the Rock Island Railroad. In 1979, Dick and Sue relocated to Des Moines, Iowa as Dick was promoted to Division Superintendent of the Rock Island Railroad in that area. In 1980, the couple moved to Baytown, Texas as Dick became Superintendent for the Southern Pacific Railroad in Northern Texas, later merging with Union Pacific Railroad. He continued in the capacity of Division Superintendent until his retirement in 1991; completing a career in railroading spanning nearly forty-five years. After his retirement, he continued to provide consulting services for Inman Service, later Watco Companies, assisting in the rebuilding of locomotives. His love for railroading continued as a hobby as Dick enjoyed building and setting up scale model railroads in his home. After his retirement, Dick and Sue traveled throughout the United States and abroad, going to Europe on several occasions and also to Alaska. He particularly enjoyed retracing the tracks of General George Patton through the European Theatre of Operations of World War II. Dick was a longtime member of the Ancient Order of Free and Accepted Masons, Hebron Lodge 215 in Cleveland, Oklahoma where he was a Master Mason. He was a fifty year member of Scottish Rite of Freemasonry in Guthrie, Oklahoma. Additionally, Dick was a member of the Moslah Temple Shrine in Forth Worth, Texas. Dick was described by his family as a strong but gentle man who was fun loving and a kid at heart. He was a hard worker and a protector of his family; a true American Soldier. He enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren who called him, Bubba and was accepted by all of his grandchildrenís friends as their Bubba, also. Dick passed away on Tuesday, April 13, 2010 at the Hillcrest Medical Center in Tulsa at the age of eighty-one years. He was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Jack Haley; sister, Mickey Vaughn ; niece, Lea Ann Haley and a nephew, Jason LaBoube. He is survived by his wife of fifty-four years, Sue of the home in Baytown, Texas; a daughter and her husband, Jennifer and Jimmy Williams of Henryetta, Oklahoma; three grandchildren, Bradley, Tara and Michael Williams, all of Henryetta, Oklahoma; two brothers and their wives, Tom and Marie Haley of Goodlettsville, Tennessee and Darrell and Nancy Haley of Elmore City, Oklahoma. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 am, Saturday, April 17, 2010 at the Chapel of the Chapman-Black Funeral Home with Dakota Rush officiating. A Masonic service will also be conducted by the Hebron Lodge 215. Burial will be at the Woodland Cemetery with military honors provided by the Veterans of Foreign War Honor Guard. Memorial donations are suggested to the Library of your choice in memory of Dick Haley for a book about railroads. Serving as pallbearers will be Bradley Williams, Michael Williams, Jimmy Williams, Darrell Haley, Tom Haley, Mark Haley and Robert Huff. Honorary pallbearers will be Tara Williams, Melvin Trosclair, Stephen Haley, Brett Haley, Barry LaBoude and Wesley Clark. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 am, Saturday, April 17, 2010 at the Chapel of the Chapman-Black Funeral Home, with Dakota Rush officiating. Masonic rites will be performed by Hebron Lodge 215 of Cleveland, Oklahoma. Military honors will be rendered at the Woodland Cemetery by the Veterans of Foreign War Honor Guard. Burial will be under the direction of the Chapman-Black Funeral Home.