Services honoring and celebrating the life of Douglas Austin will soon be announced. Doug passed from this life on Sunday, November 8, 2020 at the age of 71.
Born October 1, 1949, in Wagoner, Oklahoma, Douglas Allen Austin was the only child born to Aubert and Mayola (Nichols) Austin. Raised in Tulsa, Doug would attend area schools and would become a graduate of Rogers High School. Furthering his education, Doug attended Northeastern State University. It was during this time that he experienced the loss of his mother which caused him to enter the workforce before planned. The grocery business was the sector he entered, and Doug was able to enjoy a long career in this industry as a food broker. His career would have him work for various suppliers including Pepsi and Wal-Mart. He would retire from the Wal-Mart Distribution Center only a few years ago.
Through the years, and through life’s circumstances, Doug would gain a large family. He and his first wife, Letha (Hawley) welcomed daughters: Kelle and Kacey. The girls described their upbringing as ‘Sooner born and Sooner raised’! The truth is this may only begin to describe Doug’s passion for his beloved university. As life happened, he later welcomed children: Michael, Dustin, and Toni, into his family. This, when he married Judy Carlton. Eleven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren would help to complete Doug’s family and his love would only grow stronger with each addition. Doug’s children said they knew that their dad loved them, but it was the grandchildren who were able to steal his heart – to the point that his children sometimes had to remind him that they still existed!
There is a short list of things or people, other than family, that really mattered to Doug. God, his church (Hope Church), baseball (especially his New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals), the Sooners, his grill, and his best friend, Jimmy Hardesty would be at the top of that list.
Remembrances of the family, that bring a smile to their face, surround Doug’s difficulty to hear as evidenced by how loud he would have the TV volume turned up and by his abrupt ending of telephone conversations when he thought the conversation was over. Most generally that was not the case as the person on the other end of the line was likely in mid-sentence. Also remembered is his generosity and willingness to help others. An example of this could be seen in the numerous times he loaned his pick-up truck to others expecting nothing in return.
Words that help to describe Doug include faithful, God-fearing, strong, an overcomer, and loving. Doug had a tender spirit for the things of God which could be seen through his prayer life and his annual reading of the Christmas story, through Scriptures, which he made a family tradition – just to name a couple of examples.
Doug passed from this life on Sunday, November 8, 2020 at the age of 71. He was preceded in death by his parents.
He leaves behind a large family to carry on his legacy which include: wife, Judy Austin; children: Kelle Roberts and husband, Kenneth; Kacey Salser and husband, Chuck; Michael Bence and wife, Jacquelyn; Dustin Bence and wife, Susan; and Toni Lohnbakken and husband, Grant; 12 grandchildren: Hawley and Colten Roberts, Conner and Gracie Jones, Kyley Vick and husband, Desmond; Alexis, Reagan, Sarah and Emily Bence, and Cayden and Lynnley Lohnbakken. He is also survived by two great-grandchildren along with a host of other family members and friends.
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