Paul Lambert Askew

1925 - 2015

Paul Lambert Askew went home to be with the Lord on Tuesday, November 3, 2015. He passed away following a brief illness at his residence near Red Oak at the age of 90, surrounded by his loving family.
Paul was born in Red Oak, Oklahoma, on June 1, 1925, the second son of the late Jewell (Lambert) Askew and Allie Askew. He graduated from Red Oak High School in 1942 and served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He boarded a ship headed to the South Pacific on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Soon after he came home he met his future bride, Carmelita Sides, at a café in Red Oak. They were joined in matrimony on Christmas Eve 1946 in Red Oak.
In 1954 Paul moved with his wife and three daughters to Bartlesville, where he worked at the Phillips Petroleum Company Research Center for 32 years. He was also a skilled cement finisher and worked on both the Price Tower and the College High School football stadium when they were being built in the 1950's. Paul was a well-known hunter and fisherman. He was a founding member of Oak Park Baptist Church, where he was ordained as a deacon.
When he retired from Phillips in 1983, Paul returned to Red Oak, where he built a home and raised cattle on land handed down from his father. He was a longtime member of Red Oak First Baptist Church, where he also served as deacon.
He is survived by his wife, Carmelita, of the home, and by his daughters Ruth Askew Brelsford and husband Les of Red Oak, Rilla Askew and husband Paul Austin of Norman, and Rita Askew Snellgrove and husband John of Tulsa.
Paul is also survived by his grandson Paul Johnson and wife Becky of Austin, Texas, and their sons Zane and Collin; by his granddaughter Allie Wilson of Stillwater and her children, Carmelita, Henry and Vincent; by granddaughter Olivia Bush and husband Travis and granddaughter Faith Snellgrove of Tulsa; by his nephew James Askew and wife Gayorghiane of Stockton, California; and by a host of friends and church family. He was preceded in death by his parents Jewell and Allie Askew and one brother, James Albert.