Terry Lee Kirkland

Terry Lee Kirkland

Funeral service for Terry Lee Kirkland will be on Wednesday, October 8, 2025 at Waurika First Baptist Church in Waurika, OK at 2:00 p.m. Interment will be at the Waurika Cemetery under the direction of Sevier Funeral Home.

Terry Lee Kirkland passed from this life on Friday, October 3, 2025 in Chickasha, OK at the age of 84. He was born on June 30, 1941 in Bell Gardens, CA to John Auyer Kirkland and Nelda Lee (Cash) Kirkland.

Terry's earliest memories were from Anaheim California, where he attended an elementary school that taught part of the day in Spanish. He picked up the language, which he used for the rest of his life.

Terry's family lived many places, but finally settled in Waurika as a teenager, where his dad opened a barber shop, which the family lived in. Terry was a wonderful brother, and he had wonderful siblings. They were incredibly close, and remained that way for their entire lives.

Terry accepted Jesus as his Savior at the Waurika Church of The Nazarene as a young man, and was later baptized at Hastings Baptist Church. He and Pat were members of First Baptist Church Waurika for more than fifty years. He loved driving the church bus, and maintained his CDL for that purpose. Since moving, Terry and Pat have faithfully attended First Baptist Church of Chickasha.

Terry had an incredible work ethic. He was a barber, but he and Pat also owned and operated the Waurika Minimart gas station, and the Kirkland Agency, where he sold Real Estate and AFR insurance. He and Glen Wilkinson also usually had a few compact trucks, convertibles or motorcycles for sale out front. He generally used his lunch hour to check cattle and he would often play with the kids until bedtime and then head to the farm to haul hay or build fence.

But he didn't just work. Terry was passionate about play. He loved to ride bicycles with the kids to Waurika lake (16 miles round trip) and ride off the ledge at Beaver Landing. He would then swim each child's bike back to shore. He did this so much that his bike finally rusted in two. He was pretty proud of the scar on his back from the wreck!

He also loved to take his kids and grandkids motorcycle riding, waterskiing or diving for coins. He always wanted to chicken fight in the water or play mercy. He loved to take each of his grandchildren to Castaway Cove in Wichita Falls, Kiddieland in Duncan or the go-karts in Branson.

Terry was a gifted athlete. He played football in high school and for 1 year at Cameron University. He was also a boxing champion. He could pitch, bat, or swing a golf club with either hand. He could slalom ski with either foot, even if one of his kids were driving the boat.

About the only thing he never did was rest. None of his kids ever remember him being too tired to do anything.

Terry loved Waurika. He spent time on the city council and served as mayor. He wanted the school to have a track, and was able to get one built with 100% volunteer labor and equipment. Later, he did the same thing with a bike path to the elementary school.

He loved to watch The Dallas Cowboys, The Waurika Eagles and the Chickasha Chicks. Lately, he had also become a big fan of Patrick Mahomes.

He told the best bedtime stories, but he was also a great story reader. He made lots of voices, and animal sounds, but he would usually only read to his kids from the bible. He specialized in Judges and 1 Samuel.

Terry loved to read. He could carry on a conversation in almost any subject. He was well versed in classical history, contract law and political theory. He loved to read biographies, Louis L'amour, Jack Reacher and Reader's Digest. He and Pat loved to go to the library and pick out books together.

Terry had a gift for vicarious joy. He never went snow skiing, but he was genuinely excited to hear about every run. He loved to watch his kids do anything. He loved to attend practices or games. He often said that watching his kids play was even better than playing.

Terry was in the army. He was stationed on a nuclear missile base in Korea during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He was the personal protector who was assigned to one of the two launch control officers. When president Kennedy gave the order to prepare to launch, Terry's best friend, the personal protector of the other launch control officer, assured Terry that "this is not how the bible says it ends." Terry said that was the moment when he learned to really trust God. While in Korea, he spent much of his leave volunteering at the missionary orphanage near his base, where he learned functional Korean.

Later, in the Army reserves, Terry served as a PT instructor for many years. He was pretty strict. He once wrote-up his own brother. As a parent, he believed in exercise as a form of discipline, and each of his ornery kids got very good at push ups. When his children misbehaved, Terry would give a certain amount of time to do a certain amount of pushups, even if they had to rest after every one. That is how Kory learned to tell time.

Terry's Barber shop was his stage. He had regular customers from as far away as Dallas. He could work that room like a ring master. Often, every chair would be full, and sometimes a line outside. He'd tell stories and crack jokes and make introductions and sell somebody a house, all at the same time. He was famous for his flat tops and being able to replicate whatever haircut Brian Bosworth was wearing. He wasn't great with names, but he never forgot a haircut. The barber shop was a repository for knowledge. People would call the shop and ask if anybody there knew how to turn a rotor, or fix a leaky pipe. Somebody would, and Terry would hand them the phone. The barbershop was also a place for Spanish or Korean speakers to come when they needed help understanding the world.

Terry and Pat were married for almost 65 years. They raised a family and opened their home to many. Some were official foster children. Some were just in need.

They had many campers and they treasured their annual family trips to Branson. Terry loved to be at the Silver Dollar City Water Slide at 6 am when it opened.

Terry and Pat loved to square dance. They were very good. They loved the outfits and the fellowship. They loved motorcycle touring. They traveled all over the country on Terry's six Honda Goldwings, often pulling a popup camper. Some of the highlights were Canada, Mt Rushmore, Niagra Falls and many many trips to Branson. For short trips they loved to ride to Meers Store or Jake's Rib in Chickasha. They loved to watch boxing matches and would often host pay-per-view fight nights. Terry loved Pat's cooking, and would often beg the kids to come home from college and ask her to fix chicken fried steak. They were made for each other, and they took care of each other, through the good times and the bad.

Over the last third of his life, Terry dealt with many health challenges. They made life harder, but they didn't change him. Eventually, Parkinson's Disease and Congestive Heart Failure made simple tasks difficult, but he fought to stay strong. Terry and Pat moved to Chickasha to be with Kory and his family last year. Terry went for a walk almost every day until the day that he died. He was very proud of the fact that he managed to outrun an angry dog on Frisco, just last month. He struggled to control his feet, and to see. But he proudly mowed at least half the lawn every week. His family tried to discourage this, but he was stubborn and sneaky. He was very proud of the fact that he had recently gained enough weight to get back to his fighting class, a welter weight, and had even been cutting Kory's hair again.

Terry often said that he "was ready to get that new body" and now he has it. Surrounded by his family and friends, Terry went to be with his savior, and his daughter, Kristen, on October 3, 2025.

He was preceded in death by his parents, John and Nelda Kirkland; daughter, Kristin Noelle Kirkland; brothers, John Jr, Harry and Robin Kirkland; sister, Vivian Clements and his longtime business partner, "Grandpa Glen" Wilkinson.

Terry is survived by his wife, Pat Kirkland; children, Kevin Lee Kirkland and wife, Laura, Kimberly Dawn Morris and husband, Brian, Kory Slade Kirkland and wife, Elizabeth, and Kody Shane Kirkland; grandchildren, Karrington Felder and husband, J.D., Kaylee Morris and Kade Kirkland, and 2 stepgrandchildren, Ryan Hawkins and Cassie Smith; many beloved foster children; brothers, Burl Kirkland, and Kenneth Kirkland and wife, Rita; sister, Nelda Ashmore; as well as numerous nieces and nephews.