Josephine Lorene (Ashley) Brown, 78, of Yukon passed away October 23rd, 2020 in Oklahoma City.
Harry Arthur Brown, 81, of Yukon passed away Sunday, November 1st, 2020 in Oklahoma City.
Viewing will be available beginning at 11:00 am, Thursday, November 12, with family receiving friends from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm at the funeral home.
Services will be held at 10:00 a.m., Friday November 13th, 2020 at Yanda and Son Funeral Home with Rick Duncan officiating. Interment will be held at 2:00 p.m. at Fort Sill National Cemetery in Elgin, with full military honors. Pallbearers will be members of the Air Force Honor Guard.
“Jo” was born August 13, 1942 in Richland Community, the daughter of Charlie Keet and Arcie Velma (Choat) Ashley.
Harry was born May 28, 1939, in El Reno, the son of Hugh Isaac Brown JR. and Alice Wheatley (Wood) Brown.
The two were married in Kingfisher, OK on October 15th, 1957. To this union were born 3 children. The couple recently celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary. They were long time members of the Yukon Free Will Baptist Church in Yukon.
Early on in their marriage Jo worked in retail sales, customer service, civil service, a nurse’s aide, AVON Rep while in Germany, and fulltime homemaker and mother. In 1980 she started a 16 year career in the Oil & Gas Industry serving as Accounts Payable Supervisor, Billing Supervisor, & Office Manager for various companies like Poindexter Drilling, Hughes Drilling Fluids, Santa Fe Minerals, and Moon Petroleum. Many of those jobs were spent working with her best friend and sister-in-law, Kay Ashley.
Harry served his nation for 26 years in the United States Air Force retiring as a Senior Master Sargent in August of 1983. He took his family with him to Istanbul, Turkey, Kaisserslautern, Germany, where he served as Chief of the Micrographics division for overseas area. Moving to Alabama to oversee the same area, he brought bonus son Brad Stockham of Illinois with him. He also served at many other bases in the United States including: Alabama, New York, and back home to Oklahoma before retiring. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Central State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1991. He then worked for the State of Oklahoma where he served as a VP of the Oklahoma Finance Authority until 2013 retiring at age 74.
Both enjoyed Church, Golf, Physical fitness, Gardening and Travel.
Survivors include daughter Debi Dupuis and husband Tom of Yukon; 2 sons, Kenneth Brown and wife Choi of Washington State, and Jeff Brown and wife Angela of Yukon; 6 grandchildren: Tommy and Joanna Dupuis of Nevada, Telayna Brown and Chris Overton of Comanche, OK, Ashley and Will Bodnar of Washington, Michael and Alisha Dupuis of Moore, OK, Alice Brown and Tyler Strandjord of Washington and Andrew Brown of Washington; 8 great-grandchildren: Makayla, Tyler, & Hailey Dupuis, Liam & Lucas Dupuis, Emma Wendt, Hazel and Cedar Bodnar.
Harry is also survived by siblings, Betty Lou Joyce Botts of Hobart, OK, Tommy Nate Brown of Sharon, OK, Loretta Ann Posey of Enid, OK, Thelma Grace Kester of Van Buren, MO and Mary Gladys McComber of Niland, CA.
Jo was preceded in death by her parents and 10 siblings: Grace Lorain Baker, Charlie Nelson Ashley, Agness Marie Slaton, Andrew Harrison Ashley, Betty Lou Ashley, Billy Joe Ashley, Carl Eugene Ashley, Laney Mae Cullison, (twin) Jesse Lee Ashley Sr. and Barbara Louise Pope.
Harry was preceded in death by his parents, and 5 siblings: Elizabeth Brandt, Hugh Isaac Brown III, Leatrice Vargas, Gary Dallas Brown, and Alice Phillips.
Memorial donations may be made to the Parkinson Foundation or Wounded Warrior Project.
Online condolences may be made at www.yandafuneral.com. Arrangements are under the direction of Yanda & Son Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Yukon, OK.
The service can be viewed on the Yanda & Son Funeral Home Facebook live for those unable to attend.
