Staff Sergeant United States Air Force Roy Gathern Ridenour
Funeral services for Staff Sergeant United States Air Force Roy Gathern Ridenour, of Hugo, Okla., will be held at 2 p.m.
Thursday, March 18, 2023 at First Assembly of God in Hugo.
Roy Gathern Ridenour was born Dec. 20, 1944 and met his Lord on May 15, 2023, at the age of 78. Roy passed from this life peacefully with family by his side. Roy was a soft spoken, patient, kind-hearted man with a gentle spirit. He loved his wife, children and grandchildren beyond measure. Roy was born in Fort Towson, Okla., to Ida Mae Ridenour (Milligan) and Luther Bruce Ridenour. Roy, the seventh of nine Ridenour children, graduated at the top of his class from Fort Towson High School in 1963. Shortly after graduation, he married his high school sweetheart and the love of his life, Sharon Gail Barnes. They wed on July 4, 1963, a date that Roy often joked was chosen so the whole country would celebrate with them. The glow of love’s eternal flame never dimmed through their 59+ years of marriage.
Roy joined the United States Air Force in 1966 where he became a munitions specialist working with nuclear weapons. During the height of the Vietnam War, Staff Sargent Ridenour would be stationed at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany where Sharon would join him.
The newlyweds soon found themselves on the adventure of a lifetime while traveling on days off to destinations like Paris, France and Venice, Italy. Though the loving couple would often reminisce about their youthful days traveling through Europe, they remained homesick during that time and yearned to come home.
After returning home, Roy and Sharon would welcome their two sons, Roy Gaylon Ridenour and Shawn Paul Ridenour. Roy was a faithful follower of Christ and long-time member of Hugo First Assembly of God Church. Roy loved to hunt and fish. Deer season would become a strong tradition in the Ridenour home, and Roy was lovingly known as “Camp Boss” at Deer Camp. In his later years, he would never venture far from the wood stove making it his job to have a warm cup of coffee and a hot breakfast ready as the guys came in from the morning hunt. Undoubtedly, when the leaves of autumn turn and begin to fall, there will be a campfire somewhere in heaven with Roy, Andy Feco, Greg Pyle and Nick Knack huddled close, telling stories of the buck that got away. Roy was preceded in death by his parents, Luther and Ida Ridenour; sisters: Elsie Priddy, Irene Easterwood and Susie Harris.
He is survived by his devoted wife, Sharon Ridenour; two sons: Gaylon (wife Robbie) and Shawn (wife Alisha) Ridenour; grandchildren: Micah, Makayla and Lexton Ridenour, Thomas and MaKenna Scaff, and Cole Ervin; great-grandchildren: Bryce and Lay-Lay Scaff; siblings: Rex Ridenour, Bessie Ridenour, Daisy Hawthorne, Lucy Fowler and Mamie Greenwalt.
The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, May 17, 2023 at Miller & Miller Funeral Chapel in Hugo.
Interment will follow the service at Fort Towson Cemetery with the Rev. Keithen Brown officiating, under the direction of Miller & Miller Funeral Home.
