Wyatt, Oscar Earl (1918-2004)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 2004 Aug 30 p. 8

Birth date: 1918 Aug 22

text of obituary:

O. EARL WYATT

Oscar Earl Wyatt, 85, of Albany, Ore., died Aug. 13, 2004. He was born Aug. 22, 1918, to James R. and Hester (Duncan) Wyatt in the remote Ozark Mountains near Culp, Ark.

He grew up farming, hunting and exploring the scenic 160 acres his father had homesteaded. They raised cotton, hogs and cattle for sale, and soybeans and corn for their own use. He attended the one-room City Rock School. Since sometimes the district could only afford to pay the teacher three months each year, graduating from eighth grade took him into his teen years.

In 1939, a teacher he'd befriended, who had gone to Kansas, returned to Arkansas with a gospel team and said he could take him to Hesston, Kan., to attend high school. He graduated from Hesston Academy in 1943.

In 1938, he decided to follow Christ in life. After graduation from high school he worked harvests throughout the Midwest and at a hardware store in Kansas City.

He married Lois Pauline Widmer on June 20, 1948, in Woodburn, Ore. They lived in Woodburn, and he worked for Kropf Lumber Co. for four years.

In 1953, after he began with Southern Pacific Railroad, they moved to the Albany area, living in Tangent most of the time. He worked for the railroad for 33 years before retiring in 1985.

He enjoyed his large garden, horses and beekeeping. He lived with an implanted artificial heart valve for 41 years. He was an avid reader and student of the Bible. His faith was strong and his heart the kindest. He was an active member of Albany Mennonite Church for 50 years.

Survivors include his wife of 56 years, L. Pauline; two daughters, Marcine Jackson and her husband, Ted, of Portland, and Miriam Rasmussen and her husband, John, of Wilsonville; and two grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by a daughter, Erline, who died of cancer at age 14; and a sister, Dovie Curtis.