Larry Dean Sowle

Long time Cleveland resident, Larry Dean Sowle, 80, passed from this life on Friday, April 7, 2017, at Clarehouse, in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
He was born on July 20, 1936, in Enid, Oklahoma, the middle child of three,to Glen Harold and Mary Blanche (Raby) Sowle.
He was raised and received his education in Enid. He was one of the outstanding basketball players while attending the Kremlin High. After graduating from Kremlin High School in 1954, Larry worked for Coleman Co. in Wichita , Kansas. In 1956, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps, served three years in Japan.
Following his honorable discharge in 1959, in 1960, Larry attended Phillips University, in Enid, Oklahoma. He continued to play college basketball. He received his degree in 1963, in Business Administration and minor in Geology. In order to pay for his education, during summers, he worked as a switch man for Rock Island Railroad.
From 1963 - 1970, he was employed by Boeing Aircraft Co., in Wichita, Kansas, as an industrial engineer, preparing work flow charts for modifications to be made on B-52 military aircraft. He also spent eighteen months in Seattle, Washington, at Boeing's commercial airplane factory. He left Boeing in 1970, due to lay off.
in 1973, he was employed by Munsingwear, Inc. as an resident industrial engineer and later he was promoted to the position of the plant manager until the plant's closure,1989.
From 1989 until 1995, he was employed as a plant manager by the National Garment Co. in Chandler, Oklahoma.
In 1997, he was employed by the state of Oklahoma, he retired from Dick Connors Correctional Facility.
His happiest times were with his family. He collected old stamps and old coins. He was an avid reader. He loved to work on crossword puzzles. He had a very sharp memory until the very end. He truly enjoyed fishing and being outdoors.
Larry was loved by everyone who worked for him and he loved them back. He was a friend whom never forgot anyone. He kept in touch. Especially with the employees of Munsingwear. They met every year in the month of May for an annual lunch. He did make a remark that 2016 would probably be the last time they would meet. And sadly it was.
Go with the Angels Papa. You will always remain in our hearts. May God bless your soul. May You Rest in Peace.
He is survived by his wife Ülker (Ellie) of home, his son, Ümit Gregory Sowle and his wife Patty of Tulsa; one sister Beverley Livingston of Enid; two grand children, Ian and Eliza Sowle; his beloved dog, Beyaz and many other relatives and friends that will mourn his passing.
Larry was preceded in death by, both of his parents and by his brother, Jim Sowle(58) of Enid, Oklahoma.
No formal services will be held. Interment of the cremated remains will be held later in the Fort Gibson National Cemetery in Fort Gibson, Oklahoma, under the direction of Chapman-Black Funeral Home. Friends may share a memory with the family online at chapman-black.com.