Donald Ralph Failes

Mass of Christian Burial for Donald Ralph Failes will be 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, August 21, 2007, at Sacred Heart Church in Alva. Father Damien Lawrence will be the celebrant. Interment will be in the Memorial Hill Cemetery under the direction of Marshall Funeral Home of Waynoka. Donald Ralph Failes was born to Alfred Ray Failes and Rose Veronica (Baker) Failes August 24, 1931 in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota and passed from this life August 18, 2007 at the Waynoka Nursing Center, at the age of 75 years, 11 months, and 25 days. Don???s early life was unusual in that his father died at age 29 after a two year illness with tuberculosis in St. Cloud, MN. Don was three and his sister was two. Because of large medical bills, both children had to spend time in a Catholic orphanage. Don lived a while with his aunt and uncle, Loretta and Hank Baker, in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and spent the summers with his mother???s grandparents, the Stachowski???s, near Foley, MN. This is where Don learned to hitch a team and help with the farming. On July 17, 1943 his mother Rose married Myrlin Ferguson and in 1946 they moved to Alva, OK where they owned a laundry. Don graduated from Alva High School in 1950. On August 19, 1950 he married Lois Arlene Nelson at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Alva. A member of the United States Army, he was soon sent to Korea. Upon returning from Korea, he went to work for the Santa Fe Railroad. He worked as a hostler, a fireman, and an engineer until 1993. He retired with 42 years of service and loved every minute. He enjoyed the men he worked with so much. Don and Arlene???s marriage was blessed with two daughters, Donneta Ruth on July 15, 1951 and Debra Ann on October 26, 1954. Don passed away one day before their 57th wedding anniversary; a full life lived just north of Waynoka. As a young man, Don played a lot of softball. He played on a traveling league. He umpired American Legion Baseball and College Baseball. Even in his last weeks he had enjoyed watching baseball and the new records that were being achieved. Don has always loved to quail hunt with his dad (Myrlin), but to fish a farm pond with family and friends really made his day. Probably the one thing in his life he was the most proud of besides his wife and his family, is his work he was able to do for God and his country through the American Legion Cheek Darbe Post #106, Waynoka. He has held many offices and chairmanships on the post, district and department levels. He was able to serve on a committee that went to Washington, D.C. several times to lobby for veterans??? benefits. While there he attended the dedication for the Korean War Veteran Memorial. Don was a proud member of the American Angus Association and the Our Mother of Mercy Catholic Church. He was preceded in death by both of his parents, stepfather, sister, and his beloved daughter Donneta Dollar on June 10, 2007. He is survived by his wife, Arlene, of Waynoka; his daughter, Debra Redd and husband Dorsey of Cherokee, OK; son-in-law, Buck Dollar of Wheeler, TX; five grandchildren, Stephanie Childress and husband, Colby, of Sayre, OK, Penny Clark and husband, Rowdy, of Canadian, TX, Ben Dollar of Panhandle, TX, Daresa Poe and husband, Allan, of Waynoka, OK, Dana Redd of Edmond, OK, four great grandchildren, Brooke and Dalton Childress, and Dacey and Rylun Clark; a great nephew Bruce Criswell; other relatives and many friends. Memorials can be made through the funeral home in his honor to the American Legion Post #106, Waynoka or to the American Cancer Society.

Donald Ralph Failes

August 18, 1978 - August 18, 2007