John Wylie II

1953 - 2025

John M Wylie II, 72, of Oologah, Oklahoma, died October 4, 2025, at his home on Lake Oologah.

He was born on March 1, 1953, in Santa Monica, California, to Wilder E. Wylie and Laura H. Wylie.

He grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, where he graduated high school from Pembroke Hill School in 1971. He graduated from Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa in 1975.

He married Faith Lubben and they had one child, James Wylie.

John was a decorated and accomplished journalist and publisher. He believed that the First Amendment is a fundamental right of the American people, and that journalism could help citizens actively participate in government and hold accountable those who abused authority and trust. He also believed that journalism contributes to local economic development and civic prosperity.

His journalistic career began at Grinnell where he was editor-in-chief of The Grinnell Scarlet & Black, a correspondent for the Des Moines Register and United Press International, and a news director and on-air personality for KDIC-FM radio.

He joined The Kansas City Star in 1974 as an intern and was named its first full-time energy and environment writer in 1975. He wrote a series on pesticide misuse that led to a federal ban on one chemical and new restrictions on aerial pesticide applications. He covered the Three Mile Island nuclear accident for the Star. He was part of the Star team whose coverage of the Hyatt Regency skywalk disaster won a Pulitzer Prize in 1982. He ended his career at the Star as Southland bureau chief.

In 1984, he and Faith purchased the Oologah Lake Leader, a weekly newspaper in Oklahoma, which they published until 2017. Under their leadership, it was named the state's best newspaper in its circulation category 17 times. In this role he and Faith contributed to the rich history of community journalism coming from Oologah, where famous columnist (among other things) Will Rogers was from, and where Bill Hogue had published the famous Oologah Oozings. The Oologah Lake Leader is now owned and operated by Reid Newspapers.

Some of his important work for the Leader included: stories that caused Southwestern Bell to create the nation's largest toll-free dialing zone for the Tulsa area and bring down phone bills for local residents, stories that led to blocking development of a fraudulent Bible-themed amusement park project that was taking money from local residents and investors, stories that chronicled the devastating 1991 Oologah tornado and the town's recovery, and stories that helped bring about the creation of the first ambulance service in northwest Rogers County. During his time at the Leader, he, Faith, and Carolyn Estes created the nationally syndicated newspapers in education feature For the Kid in You, which he continued to write for until 2024.

John also wrote about the electric utility industry for a dozen publications produced by the Platts division of The McGraw Hill Companies, personally covering a territory from the Canadian to Mexican borders and the Rockies to the Mississippi. He also wrote for many other publications including the Tulsa Tribune, the Oklahoma Observer, and Reader's Digest. His notable stories for these publications included: coverage of the Westar energy embezzlement and political influence-buying scandals, and a Reader's Digest cover story exposing abuses in asbestos and mesothelioma litigation claims.

His other journalistic awards included: induction into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame, the Beachy Musselman Award (Oklahoma newspapers' highest honor), fourteen first place awards from the National Newspaper Association, Distinguished Achievement Award from the Inland Daily Press Association, a special service award from the Oklahoma Trial Lawyers Association for his dedication to enforcing public open meetings and open records laws, and three International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors Golden Dozen awards.

He was a leader in his community and his profession. He served as Oologah Chamber of Commerce president, Oolagah Historical Society president, a lay leader at Oologah United Methodist Church, treasurer of the OpenTable United Church of Christ in Owasso, class agent for his class at Grinnell College, Public Information Officer for the Rogers County Emergency Management Agency, and Public Information Officer for the Oologah-Talala Emergency Medical Services ambulance district, and as an officer for many journalistic organizations including the Society for Professional Journalists, the Society of Environmental Journalists, and the National Newspaper Association.

He was active in politics and ran twice for office, once locally for fire board and once statewide for the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.

He is survived by his wife, Faith Wylie, and his son, James Wylie. He is preceded in death by his father, Wilder E. Wylie, and mother, Laura H. Wylie.

Visitation will be Noon to 8:00 p.m., Wednesday, October 8, 2025, at Collinsville Dolton Funeral Home, 1302 W Main St, Collinsville, OK, 74021. The family will be present from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Funeral services will be 10:00 a.m., Thursday, October 9, 2025, at Oologah United Methodist Church with Pastor Shannon Rodenberg officiating.

Interment will follow at Oak Hill Cemetery in Oologah.

Services are under the direction of Collinsville Dolton Funeral Home.