John Russell Oler made his entry into this world on September 28, 1944, in his family’s home across the street north from the Blaine County Courthouse in Watonga, Oklahoma.  Welcoming him were his parents, Tom and Louise (Long) Oler, his two brothers Richard (Dick) and Robert (Bob); and his sister, Patsy (Pat).  He lived at that residence until he was 20, at which time he moved to the Long family farm southeast of Watonga and resided on that land until his death on October 3, 2024, five days after his 80th birthday.

When John was just a little tyke, one of the local guys nicknamed him “Pete Jones” and everyone in town, including family, called him by that name all throughout his life.  He would become upset if anyone who had known him all his life called him “John” instead of “Pete”.  Mail was even addressed to “Pete Jones” and it would still be delivered (because the mailmen also knew him as “Pete”).

He was a typical kid in the 50s and 60s who liked to shoot his BB gun, ride motorcycles and go overnight fishing with friends. He enjoyed driving his motorcycle and Volkswagen pickup.  Throughout all of his twelve years of schooling in Watonga, there have been several mentions of various pranks on the teachers that he swears he was just witness to, but one wonders if the whole truth was being told.

John worked during the school years for the local Larry Stevenson Photography Studio, and he took tons of pictures of school events, which later burned in his house fire in 1973 along with family photos.  Upon graduation, John attended college for a brief time, but then decided to seek employment instead.

Other work experience included:  Roman Nose State Park as a maintenance man, hauling freight and even delivering the first working gas pumps to the Loves Store No. 1 when it first opened, a Moorman’s Feed salesman, raising and breeding prized Simmental cattle, raising pigs with Raymond Sowers, farming, and completing most of the construction on his new home while working other jobs.  All of this was completed by the time he was 31 years old.  He was a member of the Oklahoma State Simmental Association and held two different officer positions.

John became a father in December, 1970, to Paul Ryan Oler, whom he quickly nicknamed “PR”, and that nickname has stuck with him to this day even though most people know him as Ryan.  Those two enjoyed spending every spare minute together whenever they could.  One summer they met Raymond Sowers and his daughter in California to tour Disneyland and other attractions.  They also built a model train layout together and many hours were spent operating the trains.

In 1975, John was hired as a Petroleum Landman to check surface and mineral ownership, plus oil and gas company ownership in various counties, and eventually opened his own business in this field in 1978 after encouragement from oil company officers in Tulsa who were impressed with his work.  He was extremely meticulous and intelligent and became one of the most recognized landmen in Oklahoma by title attorneys, oil and gas companies, and County Clerk’s offices.  His office was located in Watonga with several employees until it became a home-based business in October, 1982.  He retired from this profession around 2016, but would still give free advice to mineral and land owners whenever they would reach out to him.  John was a member of the Oklahoma City Association of Petroleum Landman and the Tulsa Petroleum Landman Association for several years.  Following in suit with his dad and all of his siblings, John earned his pilot’s license, and really loved to fly his Cessna Skylane airplane for both business purposes and pleasure.  He was also a member of the Watonga Elks Lodge in the 1980s and early 1990s.

In the summer of 1980, John met a Texas-born accountant not knowing that it would eventually lead to a life-changing experience.  The accounting firm John used at which Donna Nixon was working for, was disbanding on January 31, 1981.  John happened to know of an available accounting job opening in Watonga which lead to Donna interviewing and being hired.  They started dating, and on October 17, 1981, John and PR welcomed Donna as part of their family at their wedding held outdoors at the Oler home.  On October 8, 1983, their family of three became a family of four upon the arrival of Jeffrey Ray Oler (Jeff).  Both parents were very involved in all of Jeff’s school and summer activities.  John and several other men in surrounding counties started the Cimarron Valley Baseball League during which time John was the Secretary and helped coach Jeff’s teams. John also enjoyed taking fishing trips and camping trips with friends and family for many decades, plus a couple of snow skiing trips early in their marriage. Upon retirement, John could not wait to get back outdoors, and gardening became his passion.  He would start his own plants from heirloom seeds and spend hours daily working in the garden and tinkering in his shop.  He was known to plant way too many seeds so that he could share the plants with friends, and would offer them gardening advice whether they wanted it or not.  He would say, “I love to watch things grow from a seed into a plant.”

John and Donna had a special marriage in many ways, one of which is the fact that 80% of their married years involved them working together on a daily basis, a task that many marriages could not survive.  They also never had a “fight” or a major disagreement, discussions—yes, but very few of those. They both enjoyed all the benefits of living in the country:  wildlife on the farm and raising chickens, baby squirrels, baby rabbits, and John’s pet duck, “Flappy”, who was crazy about him. John and Donna also enjoyed building many kinds of projects together.

Besides being known for thoroughly enjoying picking on people and giving all the females hugs, he will also be remembered as a man who kept to himself, was great at giving detailed information on how things worked, loved living on the hill, was somewhat of a perfectionist in many areas, did not verbalize his feelings much, and he cherished and worried about our country daily.  He loved his wife “more than you can ever imagine” as he had been telling her daily in recent weeks.

John was preceded in death by both parents, an infant son (John Russell, Jr.), and two siblings and their spouses,   Richard (Dick) Oler (Joan), and Robert (Bob) Oler (Juanita); both his wife’s parents, and other extended family members.  Survivors include his wife Donna; his sister, Patsy (Pat) Driever; both sons and their spouses, Ryan (Michelle) and Jeff (Gina); three grandchildren, two bonus grandchildren, two bonus great-grandchildren; extended family members, plus a plethora of friends.  He definitely made an impression on all who knew him, and if you did not  know him, you really missed out.

A private graveside service for family and close friends will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 10th, at the Watonga IOOF Cemetery.  A celebration of life will start at 3:00 p.m. (for all who want to attend) at the Boots ‘n Chaps Event Center southeast of Watonga.

In lieu of plants and flowers, the family is requesting donations be made to the East Mount Pleasant Cemetery (P.O. Box 442, Watonga, 73772) located on the Oler’s section of land, or to the Watonga IOOF Cemetery near Watonga, to assist with maintenance costs of these cemeteries.