Nov. 11, 1925– July 21, 2023
Frank Roy Loftiss, passed away at his home in Washita County on July 21, 2023, at the age of 97. He will be remembered by his family and community for his kindness and generosity, his humbleness and his work ethic.
He was an Elder at the Dill City Church of Christ, a Marine Corps veteran of World War II, a father of two, grandfather of five and great grandfather of three.
Frank was the son of William Roy and Cora Delphia Loftiss, the fourth of their five children.
He graduated from Canute High School in 1943 and enlisted in the Marine Corps in September of that same year. He was seventeen years old. He served in the Pacific theatre, taking part in the battles of Saipan, Tinian and Okinawa before returning home in January of 1946.
In 1947 Frank married Donne Juinelle McDonald and the two remained married for 76 years, until her passing in June of 2023. Frank loved his family and his church, and he loved farming.
Frank herded cattle and worked the farms of western Oklahoma from 1948 to 2020. Over the years he drove tractors, some without cabs, in the dust and the heat and the cold, and stripped cotton, sometimes two rows at a time. He was always interested in employing progressive techniques to his farms and was an early adopter of no-till farming.
He cared deeply about his stewardship of the land and was committed to working his farms for as long as he was physically able. Not everyone who farms is a farmer. Frank was a farmer.
He was predeceased by his wife Donne, his daughter Jana, his grandson Doug, his brothers, Lou, Ralph and Orie, and sister, Nina.
He is survived by his son, his four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. And he is survived by the dozens of people whose lives he affected through his kindness and helpfulness and the example he set as a Christian, a father, a farmer and a member of the community.
A funeral service to honor and celebrate Frank’s life will be held August 5th at 10:30 AM at Dill City Church of Christ.