Charles Allen Stratton, age 79, of Wynnewood, Oklahoma, passed away at home August 6, 2025.
Charles was the middle son of Woodrow Ellsworth Stratton and Jewel Elizabeth (Ward) Stratton, born in Sidney, Nebraska, May 27, 1946. His maternal grandparents were the late James David Ward and Ginevra (Mills) Ward of Tahlequah, Oklahoma. His paternal grandparents were the late Joseph Uriah Stratton and Charlotta (Dawson) Stratton, last known to reside in Missouri.
Charlie was raised in Midwest City, Oklahoma, and graduated from Midwest City High School.
He entered the United States Army on January 3, 1966, serving as a combat engineer during the Vietnam War, including one year overseas. He was honorably discharged December 18, 1968. For his service, he was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal w/Device (1960), and the Vietnam Service Medal.
While deployed, Charlie prayed for God to bring him safely home, bless him with a wife, and allow him to one day buy a piece of land of his own. On September 4, 1970, Charlie married Deborah Kay Dawson. On August 19, 1976, they settled on that piece of land near Wynnewood and made it their home for the past 50 years.
Charlie loved the outdoors more than anything. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, gun collecting, gardening, building, welding, farming and raising bulldogs. He and his family camped and fished with the late Lester & Lula Daniels and Cobb families for many years. Jimmy Cobb, affectionately known as “Little Rooster,” was a lifelong best friend from his Tinker Field work days. Another dear friend was Eddie Thompson. He and Charlie enjoyed squirrel hunting together, and after one such trip, they ended up in a wrestling match — “Guess who won!?”
Thank you to all who shared your love and kindness with us throughout the years.
He is survived by his wife, Deborah, of the home; daughter, Sherri Jo Stratton (Smith) of Oklahoma City; and grandsons, Daniel Marcus Smith and Charles Jacob Smith. He is also survived by his brothers, John Michael Stratton and his wife, Sylvia, of Rose Hill, Kansas, and Daniel Alvin Stratton and his wife, Sharon, last known of San Antonio, Texas; and his sisters-in-love, Glenda Cordale of Mount Juliet, Tennessee, Lynette Sue Myers of Wynnewood, Oklahoma, Ricki Jean Looney of Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, and Faith Garver Campbell and her husband, Patrick, of Pauls Valley, Oklahoma. He leaves behind a host of cousins, nieces, nephews and many he prayed for over the years, as well as numerous foster children he helped during difficult times in their lives.
Charlie accepted Christ and was baptized at Victory Baptist Church in the 1980s. Today, we rejoice in his “Promotion Celebration,” for he is home with Jesus.
“We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” – 2 Corinthians 5:8 Funeral services were held Tuesday, August 12, 2025, at the Light of the World Pentecostal Church of God officiated by Pastor Joel Brewer. Interment is at Mt.
Olivet Cemetery under the direction of Stufflebean-Coffey Funeral Home. We invite you to send words of comfort to the family at stufflebeanfuneralhome.com.
