Paul R. Fullingim was the third child of Wade and Myrtle Fullingim and was born in the late Spring of 1915 near Pickett, OK, a few miles west of Ada in Pontotoc County. When he was one or two years old, his parents moved the family north to Oilton, OK (west of Tulsa), where his father worked in the oil fields, that is, until he was nearly killed in a fiery explosion that occurred on one of the rigs. After this accident, Wade left oil field work and he returned to southern Oklahoma near Coleman where he attempted to get back into farming. But by 1923 it was necessary to move the family once again--this time to western Oklahoma "to pick bolls."
Paul remembered those days well, "We had to go where there was work and money. I chopped cotton all day long for a dollar, except I only got paid 50 cents, because I was only a kid. When I got to the end of a row, I had chopped as much as a grown man had and he'd get a dollar, but I still only got 50 cents. That's just the way things were back then." By 1925 the family had moved further north near Ringwood, Oklahoma.
And then the Depression hit. Eventually the family returned to Antlers, OK, and Paul continued farming until WWII erupted. Paul was drafted on January 8, 1941, reporting first to Fort Sill (Lawton, OK), then on to Camp Callan (San Diego, CA) for basic training. He was stationed near Seattle at Bremerton, Washington. He earned the rank of Tech Sergeant, and later on that of Master Sergeant. He was listed as a rifleman. Paul did not go into combat duty, because on July 6, 1943, his younger brother, A.L. Fulingim, was reported as missing in action during the Battle of Kula Gulf (Solomon Islands, South Pacific). It was not until much later on that Paul learned that this was indeed the reason why he was prevented from going oversees.
From duty in Seattle, he was transferred in August 1944 to Salina, KS, then to Ft. Benning, Georgia, Camp Blandon, Florida, Jacksonville, Florida, and finally to Augusta, Georgia, where his unit "broke camp" when the war ended. Paul, however, did not have enough points to be discharged, so he was transferred to Anaston, Alabama, where he gained another stripe. Three months later he was sent to Camp Chaffey, Arkansas, where he was given his discharge papers in late 1945 to early 1946.
He returned to Antlers, OK, where he purchased 300 acres and farmed for the next four years. Hard times forced him out of farming, and so he went to Boline, KS (south of Salina), to work on a pipeline. After three months he moved on to Hobbs, New Mexico, where his first cousin, Mick Fullingim, was residing at the time. There Paul worked in construction--building streets--for about fourteen months, and then on to California during the early 1950s.
In 1956 he came back to Oklahoma City in order to bury his father in Antlers, OK, as he had promised. When he returned to California after his father's death, his marriage to his first wife, Lois (née Tenneson), dissolved. Paul left California, and on the way back to Oklahoma he stopped once again at Hobbs, New Mexico, to build up a bit of capitol. There he found work, dressing tools that were used for drilling water wells.
By 1957 Paul had returned to Oklahoma City where he purchased a Deep Rock service station on NW 23rd and Pennsylvania. On January 4, 1958, Paul was married to Julia Hill-Kincaide, who had recently been widowed. Paul sold his service station in July 1958 and by Fall of that same year, he began working with the Oklahoma City Water Department, from which he retired in October 1978 after nineteen and a half years of work. During his later years with the Department he worked as field foreman in water maintenance.
Paul and his wife, Julia, had one adopted daughter, Nancy (Kincaid) Garza of San Antonio, Texas, three granddaughters (one of whom died in 1980 at age 17), and two great granddaughters. Paul and Julia were members of May Avenue Wesleyan Church, Oklahoma City.
In 1997 it was necessary for Paul to begin residing in the Veteran's Home in Norman, Oklahoma, because of his deteriorating physical stamina. In early March 1998 he was admitted to the Norman [OK] Hospital and died the following day in the early evening hours of March 8. Paul was 82 years of age.
He was preceded in death by his two older siblings, Furman and Irene, and also by his two younger siblings, A.L. "Shorty" and Marie. He was survived by his wife, Julia; a daughter, Nancy and her husband Phil Garza; two grandchildren, and three great grandchildren. Services were held at 10:00 AM, Thursday, March 12, at Guardian West Chapel with interment at Arlington Memory Gardens.
PATERNAL GRANDPARENTS:
Isaac Foster Fullingim
Martha Ann (Golden) Fullingim
MATERNAL GRANDPARENTS
William Erwin "Bill" Lowe
Ellena Josephine "Leny" (Russell) Lowe
Paul remembered those days well, "We had to go where there was work and money. I chopped cotton all day long for a dollar, except I only got paid 50 cents, because I was only a kid. When I got to the end of a row, I had chopped as much as a grown man had and he'd get a dollar, but I still only got 50 cents. That's just the way things were back then." By 1925 the family had moved further north near Ringwood, Oklahoma.
And then the Depression hit. Eventually the family returned to Antlers, OK, and Paul continued farming until WWII erupted. Paul was drafted on January 8, 1941, reporting first to Fort Sill (Lawton, OK), then on to Camp Callan (San Diego, CA) for basic training. He was stationed near Seattle at Bremerton, Washington. He earned the rank of Tech Sergeant, and later on that of Master Sergeant. He was listed as a rifleman. Paul did not go into combat duty, because on July 6, 1943, his younger brother, A.L. Fulingim, was reported as missing in action during the Battle of Kula Gulf (Solomon Islands, South Pacific). It was not until much later on that Paul learned that this was indeed the reason why he was prevented from going oversees.
From duty in Seattle, he was transferred in August 1944 to Salina, KS, then to Ft. Benning, Georgia, Camp Blandon, Florida, Jacksonville, Florida, and finally to Augusta, Georgia, where his unit "broke camp" when the war ended. Paul, however, did not have enough points to be discharged, so he was transferred to Anaston, Alabama, where he gained another stripe. Three months later he was sent to Camp Chaffey, Arkansas, where he was given his discharge papers in late 1945 to early 1946.
He returned to Antlers, OK, where he purchased 300 acres and farmed for the next four years. Hard times forced him out of farming, and so he went to Boline, KS (south of Salina), to work on a pipeline. After three months he moved on to Hobbs, New Mexico, where his first cousin, Mick Fullingim, was residing at the time. There Paul worked in construction--building streets--for about fourteen months, and then on to California during the early 1950s.
In 1956 he came back to Oklahoma City in order to bury his father in Antlers, OK, as he had promised. When he returned to California after his father's death, his marriage to his first wife, Lois (née Tenneson), dissolved. Paul left California, and on the way back to Oklahoma he stopped once again at Hobbs, New Mexico, to build up a bit of capitol. There he found work, dressing tools that were used for drilling water wells.
By 1957 Paul had returned to Oklahoma City where he purchased a Deep Rock service station on NW 23rd and Pennsylvania. On January 4, 1958, Paul was married to Julia Hill-Kincaide, who had recently been widowed. Paul sold his service station in July 1958 and by Fall of that same year, he began working with the Oklahoma City Water Department, from which he retired in October 1978 after nineteen and a half years of work. During his later years with the Department he worked as field foreman in water maintenance.
Paul and his wife, Julia, had one adopted daughter, Nancy (Kincaid) Garza of San Antonio, Texas, three granddaughters (one of whom died in 1980 at age 17), and two great granddaughters. Paul and Julia were members of May Avenue Wesleyan Church, Oklahoma City.
In 1997 it was necessary for Paul to begin residing in the Veteran's Home in Norman, Oklahoma, because of his deteriorating physical stamina. In early March 1998 he was admitted to the Norman [OK] Hospital and died the following day in the early evening hours of March 8. Paul was 82 years of age.
He was preceded in death by his two older siblings, Furman and Irene, and also by his two younger siblings, A.L. "Shorty" and Marie. He was survived by his wife, Julia; a daughter, Nancy and her husband Phil Garza; two grandchildren, and three great grandchildren. Services were held at 10:00 AM, Thursday, March 12, at Guardian West Chapel with interment at Arlington Memory Gardens.
PATERNAL GRANDPARENTS:
Isaac Foster Fullingim
Martha Ann (Golden) Fullingim
MATERNAL GRANDPARENTS
William Erwin "Bill" Lowe
Ellena Josephine "Leny" (Russell) Lowe
Paul R. Fullingim was the third child of Wade and Myrtle Fullingim and was born in the late Spring of 1915 near Pickett, OK, a few miles west of Ada in Pontotoc County. When he was one or two years old, his parents moved the family north to Oilton, OK (west of Tulsa), where his father worked in the oil fields, that is, until he was nearly killed in a fiery explosion that occurred on one of the rigs. After this accident, Wade left oil field work and he returned to southern Oklahoma near Coleman where he attempted to get back into farming. But by 1923 it was necessary to move the family once again--this time to western Oklahoma "to pick bolls."
Paul remembered those days well, "We had to go where there was work and money. I chopped cotton all day long for a dollar, except I only got paid 50 cents, because I was only a kid. When I got to the end of a row, I had chopped as much as a grown man had and he'd get a dollar, but I still only got 50 cents. That's just the way things were back then." By 1925 the family had moved further north near Ringwood, Oklahoma.
And then the Depression hit. Eventually the family returned to Antlers, OK, and Paul continued farming until WWII erupted. Paul was drafted on January 8, 1941, reporting first to Fort Sill (Lawton, OK), then on to Camp Callan (San Diego, CA) for basic training. He was stationed near Seattle at Bremerton, Washington. He earned the rank of Tech Sergeant, and later on that of Master Sergeant. He was listed as a rifleman. Paul did not go into combat duty, because on July 6, 1943, his younger brother, A.L. Fulingim, was reported as missing in action during the Battle of Kula Gulf (Solomon Islands, South Pacific). It was not until much later on that Paul learned that this was indeed the reason why he was prevented from going oversees.
From duty in Seattle, he was transferred in August 1944 to Salina, KS, then to Ft. Benning, Georgia, Camp Blandon, Florida, Jacksonville, Florida, and finally to Augusta, Georgia, where his unit "broke camp" when the war ended. Paul, however, did not have enough points to be discharged, so he was transferred to Anaston, Alabama, where he gained another stripe. Three months later he was sent to Camp Chaffey, Arkansas, where he was given his discharge papers in late 1945 to early 1946.
He returned to Antlers, OK, where he purchased 300 acres and farmed for the next four years. Hard times forced him out of farming, and so he went to Boline, KS (south of Salina), to work on a pipeline. After three months he moved on to Hobbs, New Mexico, where his first cousin, Mick Fullingim, was residing at the time. There Paul worked in construction--building streets--for about fourteen months, and then on to California during the early 1950s.
In 1956 he came back to Oklahoma City in order to bury his father in Antlers, OK, as he had promised. When he returned to California after his father's death, his marriage to his first wife, Lois (née Tenneson), dissolved. Paul left California, and on the way back to Oklahoma he stopped once again at Hobbs, New Mexico, to build up a bit of capitol. There he found work, dressing tools that were used for drilling water wells.
By 1957 Paul had returned to Oklahoma City where he purchased a Deep Rock service station on NW 23rd and Pennsylvania. On January 4, 1958, Paul was married to Julia Hill-Kincaide, who had recently been widowed. Paul sold his service station in July 1958 and by Fall of that same year, he began working with the Oklahoma City Water Department, from which he retired in October 1978 after nineteen and a half years of work. During his later years with the Department he worked as field foreman in water maintenance.
Paul and his wife, Julia, had one adopted daughter, Nancy (Kincaid) Garza of San Antonio, Texas, three granddaughters (one of whom died in 1980 at age 17), and two great granddaughters. Paul and Julia were members of May Avenue Wesleyan Church, Oklahoma City.
In 1997 it was necessary for Paul to begin residing in the Veteran's Home in Norman, Oklahoma, because of his deteriorating physical stamina. In early March 1998 he was admitted to the Norman [OK] Hospital and died the following day in the early evening hours of March 8. Paul was 82 years of age.
He was preceded in death by his two older siblings, Furman and Irene, and also by his two younger siblings, A.L. "Shorty" and Marie. He was survived by his wife, Julia; a daughter, Nancy and her husband Phil Garza; two grandchildren, and three great grandchildren. Services were held at 10:00 AM, Thursday, March 12, at Guardian West Chapel with interment at Arlington Memory Gardens.
PATERNAL GRANDPARENTS:
Isaac Foster Fullingim
Martha Ann (Golden) Fullingim
MATERNAL GRANDPARENTS
William Erwin "Bill" Lowe
Ellena Josephine "Leny" (Russell) Lowe
Paul remembered those days well, "We had to go where there was work and money. I chopped cotton all day long for a dollar, except I only got paid 50 cents, because I was only a kid. When I got to the end of a row, I had chopped as much as a grown man had and he'd get a dollar, but I still only got 50 cents. That's just the way things were back then." By 1925 the family had moved further north near Ringwood, Oklahoma.
And then the Depression hit. Eventually the family returned to Antlers, OK, and Paul continued farming until WWII erupted. Paul was drafted on January 8, 1941, reporting first to Fort Sill (Lawton, OK), then on to Camp Callan (San Diego, CA) for basic training. He was stationed near Seattle at Bremerton, Washington. He earned the rank of Tech Sergeant, and later on that of Master Sergeant. He was listed as a rifleman. Paul did not go into combat duty, because on July 6, 1943, his younger brother, A.L. Fulingim, was reported as missing in action during the Battle of Kula Gulf (Solomon Islands, South Pacific). It was not until much later on that Paul learned that this was indeed the reason why he was prevented from going oversees.
From duty in Seattle, he was transferred in August 1944 to Salina, KS, then to Ft. Benning, Georgia, Camp Blandon, Florida, Jacksonville, Florida, and finally to Augusta, Georgia, where his unit "broke camp" when the war ended. Paul, however, did not have enough points to be discharged, so he was transferred to Anaston, Alabama, where he gained another stripe. Three months later he was sent to Camp Chaffey, Arkansas, where he was given his discharge papers in late 1945 to early 1946.
He returned to Antlers, OK, where he purchased 300 acres and farmed for the next four years. Hard times forced him out of farming, and so he went to Boline, KS (south of Salina), to work on a pipeline. After three months he moved on to Hobbs, New Mexico, where his first cousin, Mick Fullingim, was residing at the time. There Paul worked in construction--building streets--for about fourteen months, and then on to California during the early 1950s.
In 1956 he came back to Oklahoma City in order to bury his father in Antlers, OK, as he had promised. When he returned to California after his father's death, his marriage to his first wife, Lois (née Tenneson), dissolved. Paul left California, and on the way back to Oklahoma he stopped once again at Hobbs, New Mexico, to build up a bit of capitol. There he found work, dressing tools that were used for drilling water wells.
By 1957 Paul had returned to Oklahoma City where he purchased a Deep Rock service station on NW 23rd and Pennsylvania. On January 4, 1958, Paul was married to Julia Hill-Kincaide, who had recently been widowed. Paul sold his service station in July 1958 and by Fall of that same year, he began working with the Oklahoma City Water Department, from which he retired in October 1978 after nineteen and a half years of work. During his later years with the Department he worked as field foreman in water maintenance.
Paul and his wife, Julia, had one adopted daughter, Nancy (Kincaid) Garza of San Antonio, Texas, three granddaughters (one of whom died in 1980 at age 17), and two great granddaughters. Paul and Julia were members of May Avenue Wesleyan Church, Oklahoma City.
In 1997 it was necessary for Paul to begin residing in the Veteran's Home in Norman, Oklahoma, because of his deteriorating physical stamina. In early March 1998 he was admitted to the Norman [OK] Hospital and died the following day in the early evening hours of March 8. Paul was 82 years of age.
He was preceded in death by his two older siblings, Furman and Irene, and also by his two younger siblings, A.L. "Shorty" and Marie. He was survived by his wife, Julia; a daughter, Nancy and her husband Phil Garza; two grandchildren, and three great grandchildren. Services were held at 10:00 AM, Thursday, March 12, at Guardian West Chapel with interment at Arlington Memory Gardens.
PATERNAL GRANDPARENTS:
Isaac Foster Fullingim
Martha Ann (Golden) Fullingim
MATERNAL GRANDPARENTS
William Erwin "Bill" Lowe
Ellena Josephine "Leny" (Russell) Lowe
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U.S. Army, World War II
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