Earl Leon Mcspadden

Earl Leon McSpadden was born on August 24, 1934, in Hobart, Oklahoma to parents Thomas and Louie McSpadden. He passed peacefully from this life on August 1, 2016. Earl was the youngest of seven children. He had 4 sisters, Lillian, Sybil, Allie Mae, and Jane, and 2 brothers, Richard and Charles. He is predeceased by his parents and all of his siblings. He is survived by his three children: Valerie Newby and husband David of Broken Arrow, OK, Angela Paulsen and husband Wayne of Tulsa, Cody McSpadden and fiancée Kay Hogue, also of Tulsa; four grandchildren, Audra and Chelsea Mize, Alex and Austin McSpadden as well as one great-grandson Ellis Lee Lewis.
Earl spent his early years growing up in Haskell, Oklahoma. It was the middle of the depression and times were hard. Earl grew up very poor and material things never meant much to him. He learned how to whittle from his father and spent time making things out of wood for the rest of his life. Earl was a precocious child, full of fun, laughter and always finding his way into mischief. He and his brothers and friends were caught more than once stealing watermelons and cantaloupes from a neighboring farmer. Earl still laughed like a child every time he told that story and how the farmer yelled and chased them as they ran away with their loot.
At around the age of 15, Earl’s family moved to Cleveland where he lived the remainder of his life. Earl loved to laugh and loved to make others laugh. He would do or say just about any goofy thing he could think of just to make you laugh. Earl’s laughter was contagious, and he kept his playful sense of humor until he died, despite his physical suffering.
Earl loved the lake and the outdoors, but he never learned to swim. When he was a child, his father told his brothers to throw him in the creek and he’d learn to swim. When he didn’t come back up, they went in after him, end of swimming lessons. Whenever he took his children to the lake, he would always walk off the area they could swim in, which was never higher than his waste.
Earl instilled in all three of his children, a deep love and compassion for animals. They remember watching him catch mice in paper bags and take them down to the levee to let them go. Earl loved all kinds of animals. He would always stop on the highway if he saw a turtle trying to cross and put it safely on the other side. In his older years, Earl became especially fond of cats. He would take in any stray animal and feed it his last slice of bologna. Even after retirement and was on a fixed income, he continued making regular donations to the Humane Society.
Earl was kind and generous to everyone. He would give a stranger his last dollar if he thought it would help the guy out. That is, if he knew any strangers. Earl always greeted people wherever he went, as if he had known them all his life. That was one of his most endearing qualities.
Earl was amazingly healthy most of his life. He was a strong man and very fit. Always working hard, whether it was welding, carpentry, or planting a garden. Earl always got great satisfaction out of using his hands to make something and always enjoyed staying busy. He planted a garden every summer, including the summer of 2015. He was a very accomplished woodcraftsman and built almost all of the furniture in his home. Earl had a successful remodeling business in Cleveland and continued roofing houses until the age of 76. He also made furniture, toy chests, and all kinds of house décor for others that we treasure today. He was always proud of the fact that he wore the same size 34 pants as he did when he was 18.
Earl loved the Earth and all of the beauty in it. He was always pointing out things that most of us pass by or take for granted. Such as the smell of fresh cut grass, the way wind blows through a field of wheat, the beauty of a sunset and bright colorful flowers. Anyone who knew Earl knew how much he loved bright colors. The brighter, the better. He was asked just before he got sick why he liked such bright colors like pink and purple enough to paint his house those colors. He just said, “They make me happy.”
Earl always believed in taking care of the Earth and keeping God’s gift to us beautiful. Long before it was popular or trendy to recycle and long before the advent of Earth Day, Earl believed that every day was Earth Day. When his children were little, he put nails on the end of sticks and took them all out to pick up trash that others had left behind. He said it was the right thing to do, and he was right.
Earl was one of a kind. There will never be anyone else like him; however, Earl was no angel. He was a very rebellious teenager and got into his share of trouble throughout his life. He definitely did things his way. He was one of the most stubborn person around but, yet he was also stoic. He never complained about anything and denied he was ever in pain, even when it was evident that he was suffering. He was never one to ask for help.
The most important thing that our Earl would want said about him is that he had an unwavering love for Jehovah and strong belief in the promise of seeing Jehovah restore the Earth to a paradise. He so looked forward to that day. That faith and hope helped him fight many of his demons. He first began studying the Bible in his mid-teens at the request of his mother, a life-long Jehovah’s Witness. He was baptized in February of 1956, and spent over 60 years serving Jehovah. He held on to that love and hope of Jehovah and his promise until the day he died.
Although we miss him so very much, we are also thankful that he is now at peace. He will live on in the hearts and minds of those who loved him forever and ever.