Thomas Ray Darnold

Thomas Ray Darnold was born February 21, 1935 in Seminole, Oklahoma. He was the son of Louis Carson and Louise Darnold. As a young child, Thomas moved to Augusta, Kansas where he was raised by Welcome Mae and Ernest LeSeur. He attended school in Augusta, graduating from Augusta High School in 1953.

Upon graduation from high school, Thomas attended El Dorado Junior College and later transferred to Kilgore Junior College in Kilgore, Texas. Upon obtaining his Associate Degree, Thomas attended Banking School at Wichita State University. Thomas was a member of the National Guard for several years and served on active duty in the United States Army.

Thomas was married to Sharon Lee Plummer in Augusta, Kansas on November 3, 1956. The couple made their initial home in Augusta and Thomas accepted employment at the Prairie State Bank in Augusta. He was employed there for several years as a loan officer and cashier. While residing in Augusta, the couple had two sons, Dean and Kevin. Thomas then purchased and operated the Village Decorative Shop in Augusta, which he sold in the late 1960's. They moved to Liberty, Missouri after selling their business and Thomas accepted employment with William Volker as a carpet salesman. They then were transferred to Wichita with the company for a short time.

In 1974, the couple moved to Prue, Oklahoma and Thomas remained active in carpet sales. He retired in 1996 while working for SLD Carpets in Tulsa. Thomas was a loving husband and excellent father. He was a member of the First Christian Church in Augusta, Kansas. He loved the outdoors, especially hunting pheasant and quail and he liked to fish. His love for hunting led to his passion for training English Pointer bird dogs. Additionally, he was an avid Oklahoma Sooner Football fan. One of his favorite vacation spots was staying in a cabin in Minnesota. He was also a former member of the Elks Club in Sand Springs.

Thomas passed away on Wednesday, January 7, 2004 at the Hillcrest Medical Center in Tulsa at the age of sixty-eight years, ten months and sixteen days. He was preceded in death by his mother, Louise Darnold.

Thomas is survived by his wife, Sharon of the home; two sons, Dean Darnold of Amarillo, Texas and Kevin Daronld of Prue, Oklahoma; three grandchildren, Christopher Darnold of Sand Springs, Oklahoma, Shane Darnold of Dallas, Texas and Jerrod Darnold of Sand Springs, Oklahoma; and a brother, Jerald Darnold of Hot Springs Village, Arkansas.

Graveside Funeral services will be held at 11:00 am, Saturday, January 10, 2004 at the Woodland Cemetery in Cleveland with Rev. Bill Lay officiating. Burial will be under the direction of the Chapman-Black Funeral Home.

Visit an online obituary and guestbook for Thomas Ray Darnold at www.chapman-black.com.