Larry Joe Walker

Life-long Davenport resident Larry Joe Walker recently passed away, days shy of his 78th birthday.At age 77, he passed away on the evening of January 21, 2024, at his residence east of Davenport.

He and his wife, Sophia (Vandever) Walker, had been married for 59 years. They have lived four miles east of Davenport for the past 48 years with their children Kelly Jo and Rusty. Larry Joe was often heard saying that he didn’t have many reasons ever to venture outside of Lincoln County. He stuck to that plan if it wasn’t for work or the occasional football game. Larry Joe was born on February 4, 1946, to his parents, Clyde “Snuffy” Walker and Beatrice (Ary) Walker, on a farm four and a half miles east of Davenport. That said, you can see that he held to his “stay close” approach. His life ended at his home, which was less than half a mile from where his life had started 77 years earlier. With another exciting twist in the story, Larry Joe’s daughter Kelly Jo and her husband Frank Burns are now the owners of the farm where Larry Joe had been born 77 years ago.

Larry Joe was raised in the rural Davenport area, schooledinDavenportschools,andwasa1964graduate of DHS. He seldom missed the annual alumni parade and loved seeing his old classmates and discussing the old days. He was employed at Allied Roofing for 15 years as a laborer as well as a supervisor. After his roofing career, he went into oilfield work, where he worked for operations like Greenland, Oakland, and Venture drilling companies; in his later years, he did odd jobs and lighter construction-type jobs (often with his brother and best friend, Jerald).

Larry Joe was known for his love of coon hunting, rabbit hunting, and fishing trips. He didn’t think there were many things that could beat the sound of a bawling hound or a pack of beagles on the scent trail. In his later years, he found himself too old to be out chasing dogs in the woods, so he turned his attention to putting his hunting knowledge into stories. He began writing semi-fictional hunting stories that recounted some of his experiences or stories that were shared by others he’d encountered. Some of his stories were occasionally published in the local newspaper (The New Era), while other tales were simply shared among family and friends.

Larry Joe rarely missed a Davenport High School football game if he could make it. He missed some of the away games that required too much travel, but he scarcely missed a home game. Since his own parents never attended his football games, he understood the importance of being there to support the players and how much it meant to feel the encouragement of the fans.

Larry Joe followed that same path when it came to supporting his own children in their sporting events. Although he wasn’t a big fan of basketball, softball, baseball, or track, he wasn’t going to miss his kids’ events. He was there for the little league years, the junior high sports as well as the nightly grind of attending high school sports. He was there to watch every game, regardless of his feelings for the sport. He even took off work in order to be there when his daughter competed in the state track meets all four years of high school. It was certainly worth all of the travel in 1984 when Kelly won the state championship in discus by setting a new state record for women’s discus in Oklahoma at that time.

Even after his son and daughter graduated from school, he continued watching them compete in their adult years as horseshoe pitchers. Although he wasn’t able to attend and view the 2023 World Horseshoe PitchingTournament, he was undoubtedly proud when Rusty arrived back home from Michigan to celebrate winning the title for his class championship. The man who didn’t often like to share his emotions would occasionally let some slip enough to let others know that he was proud of them.

Larry Joe was an avid garage sale and estate sale hunter as well. He looked forward to springtime because he knew the sales would start once it warmed up. He never looked for anything in particular, only having fun looking for things that caught his attention or keeping an eye out for something that may be useful to someone he knew. He would spend countless hours shining up tools and crafting with what he found at sales. He always said, “The hunt for the garage sale items is the fun part. You never know what you might find.” Hunting for garage sales also gave him opportunities to spend time with his brother, his nephew Sam, and his own two children, who were also bitten by the garage sale bug.

Preceding him in death were his parents, an infant sister, his sisters Bessie Beatrice Walker and Collene Wallis, and four brothers: EJ, Don, Jerry and Jerald Walker.

Surviving are two sisters: Willa Dean Stinson and Lana English, both of Stroud. Also surviving are Larry Joe’s immediate family members. His wife of 59 years, Sophia (Vandever) Walker, remains in Davenport. His daughter Kelly Jo (Walker) Burns, along with her husband Frank, remain on the original farm east of Davenport. Kelly’s three daughters and their families are as follows: Kelly’s daughter Stormy Jo has four children: Lucius, Willow, Ozzlynn, and Sylas. Kelly’s daughter Casey is married to Dustin Hatter, and their three children are Laney, Lyric, and Lillian. Kelly’s daughter Jamie still resides in the Davenport area, and so do her sisters. They have all remained Davenport residents and dedicated DHS supporters. His son Rusty Walker resides in Claremore, OK, with his wife,Amanda (Arterbery). Rusty has four children: three daughters and one son. Rusty’s oldest daughter is Ericka. Rusty’s son, Caleb, and his wife, Abigail, reside in Charleston, South Carolina. Rusty’s younger daughters are Abby Jo and Carly, who both reside in Claremore, OK. In total, Larry Joe and Sophia Walker had two children, seven grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.

Anyone who spent much time around Larry Joe would quickly know where he stood on things. He was quick to mention to anyone that he was comfortable in his relationship with the Lord, and he looked forward to meeting Him whenever it was his time to go. Knowing that has been extremely comforting to the family during this difficult time.

Larry Joe requested that he be cremated when his timecametopass.Thosearrangementswerehandledby Gary Kelley’sAdd’Vantage Funeral Services of Tulsa.