John Beecher Giddens

John Beecher Giddens was born July 25, 1947 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He was the only child of Charles Beecher ìCatfishî and Evelyn (Muncy) Giddens. John moved with his family at the age of two to Cleveland when his father opened a jewelry store here. He was raised and attended school here, graduating from Cleveland High School with the Class of 1965. During his school years, John was an active member of the Church of Christ in Cleveland. Upon graduation from high school, John attended Oklahoma State University for a year before transferring to Northeastern State University at Tahlequah where he completed his education, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in Education. While attending Northeastern State, John was married to Saundra J. Hayes at the Church of God in Sand Springs on September 1, 1968. Upon completion of his education, John and Sandy made their home in Muskogee when John accepted employment with the State of Oklahoma, Department of Human Services, Child Welfare Division. The couple later managed a mobile home sales company for a short time in Muskogee. In 1971, John accepted another position with the State of Oklahoma working for the Oklahoma Employment Securities Commission as an employment counselor assisting unemployed workers to locate jobs. He remained in this capacity until 1976 when he began working as a social studies teacher at Cleveland High School. He often said that ìhe taught nothing, he just held class.î In 1986, John took over the Cleveland Shelter Insurance Agency as the local agent and operated the business until 1986 when he was promoted to District Sales Manager for the Tulsa area. While working for Shelter, John was recognized on numerous occasions as a member of the Millionaires Club for outstanding sales and earned trips to Maui, London, Switzerland and Amsterdam for his efforts. He retired in 2001 due to health concerns as a consequence of diabetes. John was extremely proud of his son, Brent and followed him throughout his school career playing basketball and baseball. For a time, John also served as a PeeWee baseball coach and was always a sideline coach when Brent played. For the past few years, John has had the pleasure of being Pa Pa to his three beautiful grandchildren, Jaxen, Lilli and Sutton. He had a wonderful relationship with many of his co-workers and friends, who were like brothers to him and enjoyed eating Bar-B-Que at every available opportunity. He would often drive back to Cleveland just to have BBQ at the Dari-Diner. John enjoyed the outdoors and prior to his failing health, liked to fish, travel and play golf. He was an avid Jepordy fan and was a quite good Jepordy player. He was described by his family and friends as a loving husband, father and grandfather, who was friendly and caring and could be a bit stubborn or hard headed. He was a friend to many and even liked some Republicans, although he was a die hard Democrat. John passed away on Sunday, January 27, 2013 at the St. John Medical Center in Sapulpa at the age of sixty-five. He was preceded in death by his parents, Charles Beecher and Evelyn Giddens. He is survived by his wife, Sandy J. Giddens of the home in Kiefer, Oklahoma; son, Brent A. Giddens of Okmulgee, Oklahoma; three grandchildren, Jaxen, Lilli and Sutton; three cousins, Fredda Harvey, Dolores Davidson and Betty Warhurst; sister-in-law and her husband, Vonda and Roger Snodgrass of Sand Springs, Oklahoma; he is also survived by many nieces and nephews and a host of best buddies who were the brothers he never had. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 PM, Thursday, January 31, 2013 at the First Assembly of God Church in Cleveland with Pastor Dan Edens officiating. Burial will be at the Woodland Cemetery under the direction of the Chapman-Black Funeral Home. Friends may share a memory with the family at the funeral home or online at www.chapman-black.com