John Charlie Oldham

John Charlie Oldham, Jr. was born October 19, 1953, in Shawnee, Oklahoma, to parents John Charlie and Lillie May Walker Oldham. 

He passed from this life Sunday, November 1, 2020, in a Shawnee hospital shortly after his 66th birthday.   Before entering the hospital, John was attending the Central Church of Christ in Ada.

John was the second of four children and spent most of his life caring for family members, especially during those times at the end of their lives when they most needed his care.

He lived in Shawnee for sixty-five years and graduated from Shawnee High School. He later worked at the Shawnee Walmart for twenty-nine years before retiring to take care of his youngest brother, Steve.

After Steve’s death this past February, John moved to Ada and then into his own apartment.  He loved having his own living space and enjoyed entertaining his four year old grandnephew, Mason, watching movies with him, slipping him more candy than he should have, and watching him play with toys he kept in his apartment for just that purpose.

John loved the The Simpsons, Gunsmoke, Channel Four News, and the children of his family.  His dry and sometimes cynical sense of humor was hard to recognize but always lurking just below his surface calm. He lavished the children of our family with thoughtful and unique gifts and quietly reveled in the chaos they brought to family gatherings and holidays.

He was a man who asked little and expected even less.  His quiet nature made it hard to engage him, but he seems to have been beloved by anyone who took the time to get to know him.

John was preceded in death by his parents, John and Lillie Oldham and younger brother Steve Oldham. He is survived by his sister Martha and husband Bill of Ada, brother Kenneth of Oklahoma City, nieces Sunny Swopes and husband Terry of Ada, Oklahoma, Summer Epps and husband Luke of Norman, Oklahoma, Sky Winn and husband Anthony of Austin, Texas, as well as his grand nephews and nieces Landon, Jackson, and Mason Swopes of Ada, Gabe of Ada, Gracie, Zoie, Sadie, Mollie, Macie, and Finn Epps of Norman, and soon to be born Remy of Austin.

Visitation will be 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Friday, November 6, 2020 at Cooper Funeral Home.  Graveside Services will be 2:00 p.m., Friday November 6, 2020 at Tecumseh Cemetery with Bill Nelson under the direction of Cooper Funeral Home of Tecumseh. Pallbearers will include his nephews and other family members.