Tommy Joe Shimp

Tommy Joe Shimp, 89, of Del City passed from this life to his rewards and joined a host of family and friends in Heaven on November 9, 2019 in Oklahoma City. He was born April 8, 1930 in Bixby, OK to Thomas Jefferson Shimp and Grace (Adams) Davis. Tommy was a pipe fitter and a member of Pipe Fitter Union #344. He served with the 45th Infantry Division in the U. S. Army in the Korean War as a medic and ambulance driver which led to his love of watching MASH on TV. He also enjoyed watching Gunsmoke. It is appropriate that his first date with Pat Whitecotton involved an athletic event. Pat and some of her friends were sitting in a small shop in downtown Bokoshe, a small town in southeastern Oklahoma, when Tommy came by and ask her to go to a football game. She told him he would have to ask her mother if she could go: he did; they did, and the couple eventually got married in the Methodist Church in Spiro, OK on March 12, 1955. They've been on the go ever since, traveling all over, especially going south to warmer weather during the winter. They have many fond memories of traveling with their special group of friends. Family was always a priority for Tommy and nothing thrilled him more than watching his kids and grandkids in their sporting events and other activities. He loved baseball and was a huge St. Louis Cardinals fan. He coached his sons’ Little League baseball for 10 years. He was also talented in creating Indian headdresses, often designing the beads to match the color of the owner’s car. He even made twenty beautiful pink headdresses for their friend, Jo Carol Lee, to give to her Mary Kay consultants. He was a member of Meadowood Baptist Church and Wickline United Methodist Church, both in Midwest City. He was preceded in death by his parents, Grace Davis and Thomas Jefferson Shimp Survivors include his wife Pat (Whitecotton) Shimp of the home; son Rick and wife Roxanne of Choctaw, daughter Tammy Allen and husband Steve of Spencer and son Tommy Jr. and wife Judy of McCurtain; grandchildren Ryan Shimp, Rachel Ross and husband Don, Houston Shimp and wife Alicia, Rebekah Shimp, Hannah Rogers and husband Shane, Logan Shimp and wife Cidney, Rachel Shimp, Taylor Croslin and husband Michael, Courtney Markes and husband Jake; great-grandchildren Cameron, Talon, Michaela and Caleb Shimp; Zoe and Zach Ross, Janslee and Houston Jr. Shimp, Piper and Lily Rogers and Beckett Markes. Funeral services will be 2:00 PM, Saturday, November 16, 2019 at the Free Will Baptist Church in McCurtain, OK with interment in Miners Cemetery under direction of Asa Smith Funeral Service, Harrah. Visitation will be held at Asa Smith from 1:00 PM to 8:00 PM on Thursday, November 14, 2019 and from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM on Friday, November 15, 2019. Condolences, tributes and memories can be shared with the family by visiting www.AsaSmith.net.