Donald Gene Conrad

OKLAHOMA CITY - Donald Gene Conrad was born on May 21, 1929, in Frederick, Oklahoma, the firstborn child of Harold Raymond Conrad and Mary Ruth Harwood Conrad. Don was later joined by his brother Troy Laverne, sister Mary

Beth, brother Dale William and sister Ola Gayle, forming a hard-working Tillman County farm family. Don attended Tipton Grade School into the fourth grade, though when he was ten years old, his father and Uncle William bought a farm a mile west of Davidson, and his family relocated there. When Don attended high school, he excelled in sports, and not only was he the quarterback for the Davidson Sandies football team, he also played shortstop and second base in baseball and center in basketball. In 1947, the year of his graduation, he was chosen as the outstanding male athlete. In that day and age, country boys from small Oklahoma towns rarely went to college, but, inspired by Lidge Ridings, the mother of his best friend, Carol, Don decided to attend Oklahoma A&M. Two days before classes were to begin, he gathered up his life savings of $15 and what few belonging he had, stuffed them in an orange cardboard suitcase and hitchhiked to Stillwater. Life was tough for Don in those days. To make ends meet, he worked as a dishwasher and as a part-time supply clerk for the ROTC. Later he obtained a fulltime job with the ROTC, where he worked forty hours a week for the grand sum of $120/month. Don met the love of his life, Patricia Sue Sutherland, at a dance at the Willard Residential Hall. He looked across the dance floor and saw one of the prettiest young ladies he had ever cast his eyes upon. Thinking he didn’t have a chance with her, he mustered up his courage and asked her for a dance. To his surprise, she said ‘yes,’ and in spite of the fact that she did the jitterbug much better than he, this innocent beginning eventually led to their marriage on December 23, 1950, in Claremore, Oklahoma. After their wedding, Don and Sue lived in Stillwater, and Don later became an ROTC graduate and in 1951 obtained his B.S. in Animal Husbandry. The first day after graduation, he was sworn into the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant, and in 1952, he was called to duty in Korea. Three days before he left, his first son, Gary Don, was born. Leaving Sue and Gary to live with Sue’s mother, Zaida Sutherland, he sadly left on train, eventually landing in Korea, where he fought on the front lines as a platoon leader and company commander for over ten months. He would not see his son again until he returned a year later, but what a joyous reunion it was! From 1954 to 1959, Don was an assistant county agent, first in Waurika, Oklahoma, and later in Ardmore. During this same period, Don and Sue were blessed with two more children, Jimmy Dale and Connie Sue. In 1959, he moved his family to Oklahoma City, where he worked in sales and sales management in agricultural chemicals until he retired at seventy-nine years of age. When Don’s wife, Sue, died on August 12, 2016, they had been married for sixty-five years. Donald Gene Conrad was a perfect example of the saying, “You can take the boy out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the boy.” He had great pride in his agricultural heritage and work, and he served three years as the president of the Oklahoma Agricultural Chemical Association. He received a number of awards for his work with farmers and ranchers. Don was born during the years of the Great Depression, and he knew hard times and hard work. He loved his family, cared for his country and liked people. He was a Christian, a conservative, believed in capitalism, freedom of choice, and tried hard to be a good citizen. Besides all this, he grew the best tomatoes in Oklahoma – just ask any of the neighbors who he gave them to. When Don – Dad – Grandpa – Great-Grandpa – Pops, whatever name you chose to call him, died on May 9th, 2022, he left behind a legacy of love that will extend many generations into the future. He will be greatly missed. Don was preceded in death by his parents and wife, as well as his brother Troy and sister Mary Beth. He is survived by his brother Dale and sister Ola Gayle, as well as his children, Gary Don Conrad, Jimmy Dale Conrad, Connie Sue Miller, and their spouses. He was blessed with ten grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren.