Gary Wayne Lankford passed away at his home in Yeager, Oklahoma on Tuesday, April 5, 2016, at the age of 64 years.

Gary was the son of Joe & Bernice (Evans) Lankford, born in Holdenville, Oklahoma on May 4, 1951. The family moved when Gary was nine years old, to Fullerton, California, where he graduated Fullerton Union High School in 1969. He attended Cypress College in Cypress, California, and received his teaching credentials at UCLA.

Gary married Diane Ibbs in Fullerton on July 31, 1971. In 1974, they purchased a home and moved to Pomona, California, and lived there some twenty years before moving to Wetumka, Oklahoma in 1995. In 1999, they settled on their farm in the Yeager community, their home for the past 17 years.

Gary worked twenty-four years as a heat/air technician for ACRS, and for twenty years taught night adult-education courses in Heating & Air at Cypress College. He went to work in 1993 as construction manager for refrigeration and HVAC for Wal Mart stores, and worked twenty years, both in California and Oklahoma. He retired in February of 2015.

His interests were many and varied, and he enjoyed them all to the fullest. He loved riding horses and tractors. He loved shooting and collecting guns. He loved fishing. Some of his favorite things were riding dirt bikes and 4-wheelers at El Mirage, golfing regularly every Sunday, and pulling the kids on tubes behind his boat. He loved sports, and was a devoted fan of any team with the word 'Oklahoma' in it. He particularly loved football, and was an enthusiastic supporter of whatever team happened to be opposing the team his son was rooting for. He was loving and caring and fun, and he was dearly loved in return. He will be sorely missed.

He is preceded in death by his mother, Bernice Lankford; his grandparents; two uncles, Homer Lankford and Roy Evans.

He is survived by his beloved wife of forty-four years, Diane, of the home; two children: daughter Andrea Lankford of Novato, CA, and son Steven Lankford, of the home; one grandson, Jacob Lankford of Holdenville; granddog Daisy; his father, Joe Lankford of Pomona CA; one sister, Anita Ward (Denny) of Fullerton CA; six nieces and three nephews, other family members, and many friends.

Funeral services will be held at the Holdenville Cemetery Chapel and Gary will be laid to rest in the Holdenville Cemetery on Saturday, April 9, 2016, at 12:00 noon, with Rev. Joe Moluncup officiating.