Wiley Leverne "Red" Drury

Wiley Leverne “Red” Drury, 91, went home to be with his Heavenly Father on July 21, 2018 in New Braunfels, Texas. His daughter Rebecca Drury Cejka was with him as he peacefully slipped into the arms of Jesus.

Red was born in Jackson County, Oklahoma, near the Red River on December 16, 1926, the fifth child of Wiley Oscar Drury and Martha Willeford Drury.

Red grew up and went to school in Harmony, Oklahoma, joined the army in 1945 and was honorably discharged in 1947, returning home where he started farming with his brother Jack. He bought and operated the Harmony Store in 1948, where he and his first wife Quay Whitehead also lived. In 1950 Red moved his wife and new baby Becky Jane to Jal, New Mexico where he joined El Paso Natural Gas. Red and his wife Jean Bennie, along with their daughter LeLanya, moved to Monahans, Texas in 1975 for a brief period and then to Midland, Texas where he retired in 1984.

After his retirement, Red moved the family to Mangum, Oklahoma where he started raising cattle. Red and Jean were members of the First United Methodist Church of Mangum and proudly sang in the choir. In Mangum he dedicated his free time to community services such as delivering Meals on Wheels, volunteering at the church’s thrift shop and the Rattlesnake Round-up as well as other Methodist Men activities.

Red and Jean sold their home in Mangum in 2015 and moved into assisted living in Altus, Oklahoma, celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary in 2014. Red’s beloved wife Jean passed in 2015. Red then moved to New Braunfels, Texas to be closer to family. He celebrated his 90th and 91st birthdays with large parties surrounded by family and close friends.

Red’s fondest and greatest enjoyment was his music, playing with Pat Wall and The Walnuts, The Master’s Men, his family for various gatherings, including annual reunions and anytime he and his brother Jack got together often joined by his nephew Darin Drury. Red continued to play his guitar and harmonica entertaining others up to his final days.
Red is preceded in Heaven by his wife Hazel Imogene “Jean” Bennie Drury; his father, Wiley Oscar Drury; his mother, Martha Willeford Drury; his sisters Octava Felty, Nelva Jo Fancher and Etta Jean Hestand Laird.

Red is survived by his daughters; Rebecca Jane Cejka and her husband Gary of New Braunfels, Texas and LeLanya Kunesh and her husband Kevin of Tulsa, Oklahoma; grandchildren Tracy Taylor Rice and husband Stacy, Spencer Scott Taylor and wife Victoria, Reese Kunesh and Leigh Kunesh, great grandchildren; Taylor, Patrick, Kenneth, Amy, Elijah, Elizabeth, Aurelien and Cassi. He is also survived by his siblings Jack Alton Drury and his wife Marilyn, Leveda Drury Wagnon, Billy John Drury and his wife Melva, Mary Katherine Frost Whittenburg, Henry K Drury and his wife Judy; as well as numerous beloved nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

Serving as pall bearers are Keeff Felty, Kevin Knuesh, Stacy Rice, Taylor Rice, Kenneth Taylor, Patrick Taylor and Spencer Taylor. Honorary pall bearers; The Master’s Men - Ron Gay, Butch Thomason, Richard Williams, Linden Haygood and the late Stephen Scott.

Red’s celebration of life will be held at 10:00 am on Thursday, July 26, 2018 at Kincannon Memorial Chapel in Altus, Oklahoma. Funeral arrangements are entrusted to Kincannon Funeral Home where there will be visitations with the family on Wednesday, July 25th from 6:00 to 7:30 pm and 9:00 to 10:00 am on Thursday, July 26th, prior to the services. Burial will be at the Boggy Cemetery, south of Olustee, Oklahoma, followed by a reception at Freedom Church in Altus, Oklahoma.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Red’s name may be given to First Methodist Church of Mangum, “College Scholarship Fund”, 301 W. Jefferson St. Mangum, OK 73554 or Hope Hospice of New Braunfels, 611 N. Walnut St., New Braunfels, TX 78130.

Family and friends unable to attend may log on to kincannonfuneralhome.com, 30 minutes prior to the service, to view the live webcast of the funeral.

Online tributes may be made at kincannonfuneralhome.com