So this is a celebration of a life well lived; the life of our dad, John Leroy Maitlen.

Born the second child of Cassius Edward and Grace Gee Maitlen, Daddy graduated from Norfolk (pronounced Nor-fork) before attending Oklahoma A&M (which later became Oklahoma State University.) He grew up in the Yale area with his two sisters Bonnie (Pope) and Ruthelma (Holmes) and with older brother Gene and Darrell, the youngest.

Never written up in a society column, Daddy’s life will not be mentioned in any history book. When people talk about success, as defined the world, Daddy’s name won’t come up. 

He always said that while we weren't rich, our family was wealthy in love.

On August 24, 1952, when he was 23, Daddy married 18 year old Dorothy Carol "Dot" Griffeth, a girl whom, he would later tease ,"couldn’t boil water". Mother became a great cook and he praised her cooking ability, preferring her cooking over any restaurant, especially after years of eating out, while on the road. A loving husband, he enjoyed picking a bouquet of flowers for her.

Between 1954 and 1958 the couple had four daughters Deborah,who lives in Kellyville with her husband, Jerry Tuggle and two sons Jon and Marc; Beverly married to Johnny Barnes lives in Tulsa; Pamela the wife of Tom Lynch and mother of Jenny lives in Stillwater and Edie who lives in Cushing with husband Danny Rogers and daughters Shelley and Andrea.

In 1980, Daddy took early retirement from TransCon and started Maitlen Dozer and Backhoe, which he operated until his passing.

At a little more than 6’2" we looked up to him in more ways than one. He encouraged us to never let anyone convince us that we couldn’t do something.

Like his mom, he was not a complainer, even after brain surgery, heart attacks, strokes and many other health problems people outside the family didn’t know about. His strong faith in God got him through. Though we knew he was in pain he would tell us he was doing fine and was more interested in how we were.

Teaching by example Daddy never told us "do as I say, not as I do". He never expected us to do something he wasn’t willing to do himself.

Christmas Day 1979, with his head still bandaged from brain surgery, Daddy quietly began filling plates for a family he knew would not have a Christmas. His own meal waited while he delivered their dinner to them while still hot.

Asked why he had never smoked, drank or sworn he explained that his Grandfather Gee promised him and and his brother Gene each a bicycle if they reached a certain age without doing those things. They each got their bikes. When told that he could have started after that, Daddy quietly said, "A promise is a promise." And he kept that promise his whole life.

When Pam was young she once confided to Grandmother that Daddy " had gotten so mad" that he had said "Hot Dog!",  which was the worst thing we ever heard him say.

After being on the road, for days at a time, he said riding on a tractor made him feel like he was close to heaven. He enjoyed the John Deere items his family members gave him.

God first. Family second. Everyone who knew him knew his family meant everything to him. His family included the sons-in-law, step-grandchildren, his grandaughters fiance and his numerous friends. He always felt like he knew the nicest people!

He loved being Grandpa to his “Shelley Babe”, the oldest; Jon his namesake, Andrea who rode the backhoe with him, Jenny whom he couldn’t wait to move back from South Africa, Marc whom, like his grandfather, loves scouting and whom is working to become an eagle scout and John Barnes, his grandson by acceptance, whose favorite place in the world is Grandpa’s pond.

Graciously, Daddy thanked us for birthday money but would insist that we keep it to spend on ourselves. After his passing, those uncashed checks were found in his wallet and his Bible.

On a trip to Disneyland, Bev suggested she could get in for the younger kids rate. Daddy told her that even if no one else ever found out, it was still wrong and you never really win by cheating.

Daddy loved helping others especially those who knew couldn’t give anything back. He chose to do it in a quiet way so others wouldn’t know and the recipient wouldn’t be embarrassed. He always told us not to make fun of others because we didn’t know the whole story.

He left us before getting everything done that he wanted to do. We realize that with the plans and ideas he had Daddy wouldn’t have ever gotten everything done although he sure tried to by working hard every day, even if he shouldn’t have been.

Choosing for himself to stay in the background he always encouraged us. He’d tell Mother he sure had wonderful daughters and she would remind him that she had played a part. Every time we talked to him, though we never did anything big, he would tell us that he was “so proud of his girls”.

It was easy for us to believe in a Heavenly Father because of the example Daddy set with his gentleness, compassion and above all unconditional love. Always the peacemaker, he never corrected us with harsh words. He knew simply saying he was disappointed in our actions was worse than any other form of punishment. He reminded us that he may not agree with what we did but he’d always love us. When we think about Daddy it is with joy.

He gave us stability.

In the years that he traveled, Daddy he would kiss us and say simply "So Long", since goodbye was final. 

He had to again learn to walk after his stroke in April of this year. Typical of his determination to want to get things done a little over a month later we would catch him without even a cane. Shortly afterwards he was again running and working on the backhoe.

On July 8, Daddy parked the tractor under the shade tree, walked to the park bench to visit with his best friend, who was the mother of his children and his wife of almost 48 years. Sitting close, he said her name one last time and went to be with our Lord and Savior.

No goodbye; good byes are final. As Christians we do rejoice that we are assured eternal life and will see him again.

So Long, Daddy.

Make Me An Instrument

 (the last song at Daddy's service)

Lord make me an instrument of Your peace