A funeral service to honor the life of Benham John "B.J." Branch was held on Saturday, July 24, 2021, at the First Baptist Church of Lindsay, Oklahoma. He was laid to rest in the Alex Cemetery, Alex, Oklahoma. Services were under the direction of Scott and Angel Wilbourn of Wilbourn Family Funeral Home in Lindsay, Oklahoma.
Benham John "B.J." Branch was born June 4, 1935, in a farmhouse one-half mile southeast of Bradley, Oklahoma, to the union of Oscar Lane "O.L." and Lona May (Benham) Branch.
After living in that sharecropper's homestead for three years, he moved with his family three miles north of Bradley, across the river to another sharecropper's homestead.
Three years later, his father purchased 120 acres, one and a half miles east of that location, where B.J. resided until his death on Thursday, July 22, 2021, as a result of a heart attack which caused all organs to shut down.
B.J. was a retired oilfield worker and cattleman. In 1964, he married Joy Christeen Scoggins, of Purdy, Oklahoma. They had two children, Tracy Lynn and Richard Glenn.
After Christeen's passing, B.J. married Dorothy (Duerksen) Cheshier, of Lindsay, Oklahoma, in 2005. He expanded his family by twenty-three, including children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, along with his eight grandchildren and great-grandchildren by his daughter and son.
B.J. also had numerous nieces and nephews of his late sister, Carrie Bell (Branch) Dutton. He was a simple man who enjoyed a simple life and the simple pleasures it provided.
B.J. was preceded in death by his parents, Oscar and Lona Branch; his wife, Christeen; sister, Carrie Dutton; and brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Wiley and Ruby Gosnell.
Survivors include his wife, Dorothy 'Cheshier' Branch, of Lindsay, Oklahoma; daughter, Tracy Beck and husband Steve, of Stillwater, Oklahoma; son, Richard Branch and wife Stephanie, of Goldsby, Oklahoma, and their families; and other relatives, as well as many friends.
Donations can be made to: The Oklahoma Baptist Children's Home, 3800 North May Avenue, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73112, in B.J.'s name. Condolences may be made to the family online at: www.wilbournfamilyfuneralhome.com.
