Rites held for Edward Allred

Services for Edward Lee Allred, 91, of Ada were 10:00 a.m. Monday, March 20th, at the Criswell Funeral Home Chapel, Rev. David Gray officiated. Burial followed at Oakman Cemetery.

Mr. Allred passed away March 16, 2023 in Oklahoma City. He was born February 8, 1932 in Steedman, Oklahoma to Robert Lee and Mable Gladys Davis Allred.

Mr. Allred served in the US Army during the Korean Conflict.

He married Betty Rose Owens, October 25, 1962. Mr. Allred worked for Howard Sheet Metal for 30 years and Industry for over 50 years.

For all his life, Ed maintained a strong work ethic and a commitment to family, friends, and country. As a young boy at the Steedman School, he developed a love for reading, which continued throughout his life. Even today he subscribed to three papers and several magazines so that he could stay abreast of local events, sports, politics, and a few comics. As a young boy, he chopped cotton, hoed peanuts, and worked on a dairy to earn money. After graduation from Allen High School, he enlisted in the US Army After leaving service, his first mission was to provide a good house for his mother. He and his brother Jim tore down an old house and used the lumber to build her home.

His first job as a civilian was at small sheet metal shop in west Ada. He developed such a pride in working with sheet metal that he joined Sheet Metal Local #124 at Okla. City and earned his journeyman’s license. He worked for Howard Sheet Metal at Ada and other sheet metal shops on jobs that took him across the state of Oklahoma for over forty years. Beginning in the late 1980s, he owned and operated his own insulation business for about ten years. For the last 25 years, he turned out small metal jobs for friends, family, and longtime associates in his own metal shop. In fact, his last day was spent laying out a metal project.

Ed was devoted to watching sports, whether it was football, basketball, or softball. He especially favored the Kansas City Chiefs, the Greenbay Packers, and all the OU Sooners sports. While he was in high school, he hitchhiked to Norman where he could walk into the stadium at halftime and watch the OU football games free of charge.

For over sixty years, he and his wife Betty Rose enjoyed garden work, raising cows, landscaping, traveling and remodeling their home where they have lived for 58 years. He took great pride in seeing his sons Mark and Keith grow into productive, skillful adults who shared his work ethic. Both boys have pitched in when he needed an extra set of hands or advice on solving a problem. He admired their being so mechanically inclined to save himself and them money. He looked forward to each of his two granddaughters having babies in the spring who would join his great-grandson Brantley.

A morning or two a week, he enjoyed going to Cowart’s (formerly Butler’s) a short distance from his home. The coffee crew kept him up to date on construction projects in Ada and the activities of their families. Some of them joined Ed and his wife when they went with their Trinity Church family to Branson to see the Biblical productions.

Ed felt he lived in the greatest country in the world. When he left service, he wasn’t allowed to vote in his first election because he was told he hadn’t been a resident of Oklahoma long enough. To this day, he hasn’t failed to vote, feeling that one vote can make a difference.

He is survived by his wife, of the home; two sons, Mark Edward Allred of Ada and Keith Allred and wife Paula of Ada; one brother, James “Jim” Allred and wife Mary; one nephew, Jack Allred of Stillwater; two grandchildren, Kacee Laxton and husband Mason and Kirby MacCollister and husband Brad; and one great grandson, Brantley Laxton; and dog Molly, his faithful companion.

Mr. Allred was preceded in death by his parents and one brother, David Allred.

His family appreciates the tender care given to Ed. They especially thank the Mercy Emergency Medical Technicians, the Air Evac Team, and the OU Neurological Surgery Care Unit.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Allen Masonic Lodge #81, the American Legion Post # 72, or Ada Trinity Baptist Church.