Official Obituary of
Edward LeRoy Apple
November 25, 1932 ~ October 16, 2020 (age 87) 87 Years Old
Edward Apple Obituary
Duncan and Stephens County lost one of its finest, most enthusiastic and creative citizens October 16, 2020 when Ed Apple passed away in his home in Duncan, OK.
A celebration of his remarkable 87 year life will be Friday, October 23, 2020, at 2:00 P.M. at the First United Methodist Church in Duncan. Live streaming of the service will be available at duncanfumc.org/fumc_live.
Few people packed more into a busy and productive life or made more positive things happen. As a young man Ed spent hours working in his family’s grills, coffee shops and restaurants and learned lifelong lessons on his grandparent’s Arkansas farm. He was a good athlete who could have accepted a college baseball scholarship as an all-state catcher but chose instead to attend his beloved University of Oklahoma as a walk-on. He was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and, as a quarterback, led them to an intramural campus football championship. He was a jet fighter pilot and proud U.S. Marine, retiring as a major in the Marine reserves. He was a manufacturing executive, a car salesman, a banker, an economic developer, an avid sports fan and jogger, a community leader, a poet and a conscientious district and state politician using his unique talents as an organizer, motivator and visionary to attract followers and achieve success.
His proudest and most important achievement was enticing the former Irene Elizabeth (Betty) Brown, “a cute little nurse” to become his bride on March 20, 1961. They enjoyed a lifelong love affair and had two children. Daughter, Alyson Lynn married Mike Livingston, and they have two children, Lee Edward and Blair Elizabeth and live in Lantana, TX. Daughter Leigh Anne married Jim Sutherland. They have two children, Abigail (Abby) Elizabeth and Isabella (Ella) Grace, and live in McKinney, TX.
A man of honor and dignity, there is no doubting Apple’s imprint on Duncan will be a lasting one. He and Betty became pillars of the community and along with close friend Jimmy Jones, were named 2015 recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Duncan Chamber of Commerce. Previously, the chamber had named him Man of the Year in 1978 and the Distinguished Service Award recipient in 1994 while the Duncan Jaycees selected him as Boss of the Year. He was recipient of the Liberty Bell Award by the Stephens County Bar Association in 2009. He was president of the Duncan Rotary club and a Paul Harris Fellow, chaired the United Way of Stephens County fund-raising campaign, helped launch the Leadership Duncan program and twice was president of the Duncan High Athletic Boosters Club.
Apple was a guiding force in the creation of the Duncan High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 1978 and, in 2018, he was the brainchild in creating the Duncan Area Arts Hall of Fame.
Edward LeRoy Apple was born November 25, 1932 to Lee and Lois Apple. He graduated from Tulsa Central High School and worked his way through OU as an SAE houseboy, earning a degree in business. Following his career in the Marines, he accepted an industrial management position in Poplar Bluff, Missouri before moving to Duncan in 1966 to build and manage the Haggar Apparel plant that employed 300 women and 15 men. After living two years in Norman, he left Haggar and he and Betty decided to return to Duncan in 1974. He had a brief, but successful tenure selling cars at Bostick Cadillac-Oldsmobile, spent nearly 10 years as an in-house consultant at Security National Bank (now BancFirst) and helped develop the Stephens County Economic Development Task Force.
A Republican trailblazer who was once the party’s county chairman, he saw political opportunity in 1987, accepted the challenge and was elected four times to represent District 50 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. He filled an unexpired term on the Oklahoma Corporation Commission in 1995 and, a year later, was elected to a full six-year term, serving part of that time as chairman and leaving political office in 2002.
He spent his retirement years as an involved citizen, activist, traveling with Betty, writing “I’m Just Passing Thru”, a self-published book of family poetry, and enjoying his role as a grandfather.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his older sister, Mary Louise.
From the ballfield, to flying jets, to the capitol, to skydiving for his 70th birthday, Ed lived an adventurous life of service!
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests Betty Apple Excellence in Nursing Prize, c/o Duncan Regional Hospital Foundation, PO Box 2000, Duncan, OK 73534 or online at cfok.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/list or First United Methodist Church of Duncan music program, 2300 N. Country Club Road, Duncan, OK 73533.
Online condolences can be made to the family at www.whittfh.com.
A celebration of his remarkable 87 year life will be Friday, October 23, 2020, at 2:00 P.M. at the First United Methodist Church in Duncan. Live streaming of the service will be available at duncanfumc.org/fumc_live
Few people packed more into a busy and productive life or made more positive things happen. As a young man Ed spent hours working in his family’s grills, coffee shops and restaurants and learned lifelong lessons on his grandparent’s Arkansas farm. He was a good athlete who could have accepted a college baseball scholarship as an all-state catcher but chose instead to attend his beloved University of Oklahoma as a walk-on. He was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and, as a quarterback, led them to an intramural campus football championship. He was a jet fighter pilot and proud U.S. Marine, retiring as a major in the Marine reserves. He was a manufacturing executive, a car salesman, a banker, an economic developer, an avid sports fan and jogger, a community leader, a poet and a conscientious district and state politician using his unique talents as an organizer, motivator and visionary to attract followers and achieve success.
His proudest and most important achievement was enticing the former Irene Elizabeth (Betty) Brown, “a cute little nurse” to become his bride on March 20, 1961. They enjoyed a lifelong love affair and had two children. Daughter, Alyson Lynn married Mike Livingston, and they have two children, Lee Edward and Blair Elizabeth and live in Lantana, TX. Daughter Leigh Anne married Jim Sutherland. They have two children, Abigail (Abby) Elizabeth and Isabella (Ella) Grace, and live in McKinney, TX.
A man of honor and dignity, there is no doubting Apple’s imprint on Duncan will be a lasting one. He and Betty became pillars of the community and along with close friend Jimmy Jones, were named 2015 recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Duncan Chamber of Commerce. Previously, the chamber had named him Man of the Year in 1978 and the Distinguished Service Award recipient in 1994 while the Duncan Jaycees selected him as Boss of the Year. He was recipient of the Liberty Bell Award by the Stephens County Bar Association in 2009. He was president of the Duncan Rotary club and a Paul Harris Fellow, chaired the United Way of Stephens County fund-raising campaign, helped launch the Leadership Duncan program and twice was president of the Duncan High Athletic Boosters Club.
Apple was a guiding force in the creation of the Duncan High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 1978 and, in 2018, he was the brainchild in creating the Duncan Area Arts Hall of Fame.
Edward LeRoy Apple was born November 25, 1932 to Lee and Lois Apple. He graduated from Tulsa Central High School and worked his way through OU as an SAE houseboy, earning a degree in business. Following his career in the Marines, he accepted an industrial management position in Poplar Bluff, Missouri before moving to Duncan in 1966 to build and manage the Haggar Apparel plant that employed 300 women and 15 men. After living two years in Norman, he left Haggar and he and Betty decided to return to Duncan in 1974. He had a brief, but successful tenure selling cars at Bostick Cadillac-Oldsmobile, spent nearly 10 years as an in-house consultant at Security National Bank (now BancFirst) and helped develop the Stephens County Economic Development Task Force.
A Republican trailblazer who was once the party’s county chairman, he saw political opportunity in 1987, accepted the challenge and was elected four times to represent District 50 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. He filled an unexpired term on the Oklahoma Corporation Commission in 1995 and, a year later, was elected to a full six-year term, serving part of that time as chairman and leaving political office in 2002.
He spent his retirement years as an involved citizen, activist, traveling with Betty, writing “I’m Just Passing Thru”, a self-published book of family poetry, and enjoying his role as a grandfather.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his older sister, Mary Louise.
From the ballfield, to flying jets, to the capitol, to skydiving for his 70th birthday, Ed lived an adventurous life of service!
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests Betty Apple Excellence in Nursing Prize, c/o Duncan Regional Hospital Foundation, PO Box 2000, Duncan, OK 73534 or online at cfok.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/list
Online condolences can be made to the family at www.whittfh.com.
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Edward LeRoy Apple, please visit our floral store.
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