Tommy Nation

TOMMY GAINES NATION

Tommy Nation was born on December 11, 1933, to Truman “Pete” Nation, who was 47, and Lillian Dorman Nation, age 29. Tommy weighed 11 lbs, 8 ozs…ouch, poor Mama Lillian! He had two older sisters, LaVerne and JoElla. Tommy basked in the love and joy of being the baby and the only son for five years when the unthinkable happened! The twins (Betty and Patsy) were born! Oh no!

After a few months, Mama Lillian noticed that the twins cried every time they saw little Tommy come into the room. So finally, she hid and watched Tommy enter the twins’ bedroom and proceed to bite their fingers and toes! He was determined to get rid of them and take back his rightful place as THE BABY!

Tommy attended grade school at State Center and Choctaw, graduating from Jones High School in May 1952. Tommy was hired with the Installation Division of Western Electric Co, May 11, 1952. Two years later, two of his buddies from Jones, Tommy Ratliff and Kenneth Taylor, convinced him to go with them to enlist in the Army. His buddies were classified as 4-F, and Tommy qualified for the Army by himself. His buddies said “Bye, Tom, we will take care of the women and children in your absence!”

Tommy did his two-month basic training in Ft. Bliss, TX, and passed a test to qualify for the elite Signal Corp School in Ft. Monmouth, NJ, the Headquarters for the US Army Signal Corp. After six months of school, he sailed out of Camp Kilmer, NJ to Bremerhaven, Germany. The trip was 14 days of rough seas in January, but he never got seasick. The next leg of the trip was by train for 48 hours to Salzberg, Austria. At Camp Roeder, Austria, his unit was out on maneuvers in two-foot snow.

Tommy was issued a Shelter Half and a Pup Tent Half. His reward for sleeping in a pup tent in two feet of snow was pneumonia. Tommy stayed at Camp Roeder, Austria, for about six months until Dwight Eisenhower came to Vienna and declared Austria a neutral country. Tommy was then transferred to the 34th Signal Battalion in Stuttgart, Germany. He mustered out of the Army in May 1956. Western Electric welcomed him back and bridged his two years in the Army.

He married his wife Marsha on March 16, 1962, and they had two children: Doug and Tony Nation.

In the mid 1960’s, Tommy started rebuilding Volkswagens and branched out from there to various other types of cars and trucks. On April 26, 1975, he attended a live stand-up auction and bought the home and 80 acres where Doug and Heather and the grandkids and Marsha currently live. In 1980, he was elected to the Eastern Oklahoma County Vo-Tech Board and in 1982 was elected Board President. During his tenure, the Vo-Tech land was chosen, purchased, and the construction completed.

Tommy worked for Western Electric Installation Co for 31 years, the last 14 years as a supervisor, retiring in May 1983, at the age of 49. Starting in the 1980’s, Tommy ventured into land development, completing several subdivisions in Eastern Oklahoma County. At the same time, he continued rebuilding cars and trucks. He also enjoyed researching his family genealogy.

On June 1, 2002, Doug Nation married his wife Heather from North Dakota. They gave Tommy four grandchildren: Olivia, Will, Sam and Camille.

Tommy was an amazingly kind and generous person who never hesitated to offer help whenever needed, He had a soft heart for the poor and provided money and many kinds of assistance. Tommy enjoyed rebuilding vehicles and could fix anything, was very knowledgeable about electronics and never hesitated to pass along knowledge to his sons and grandchildren. He also lovingly provided care and comfort for his mother.

He was patient, kind and forgiving, even tempered and was happiest doing for others. No project was too big for this simple, humble man who took great pleasure in acquiring a wide variety of trinkets which he lovingly shared with his grandchildren.

“Confidence is something you have before you fully understand the situation.” “The harder I work, the luckier I get.” Those words perfectly reflect Tommy Nation and his outlook on life.

He was preceded in death by his parents Lillian Dorman Nation and Truman ‘Pete’ Nation, and siblings Laverne Utley, JoElla Frans, Betty Madden and Patsy Nation.

Those left to mourn his loss and cherish his memory include his wife of 62 years Marsha of the home; sons Doug and wife Heather Nation of Harrah, Tony Nation of West Orange, NJ; grandchildren Olivia, Will, Sam and Camille Nation all of Harrah; sister-in-law Bonnie Jones and brother-in-law Kay Jones, Kent, Washington; brothers-in-law JW Utley of Oklahoma City, Robert “Bob” Madden of Mt. Arlington, NJ; nieces Sherrie Schluchter of Oklahoma City, Janet Randall of Norman, Lisa Frans of Pflugerville, TX, Debbie Frans Lechner of Boerne, TX, Liz Madden Glaviano of Glen Cove, NY, Kathleen Madden of New York City, NY, and Grace Ella Seabourn of Shawnee; nephew Mark Frans of San Antonio, TX; and many other relatives and friends.

A Rosary will be recited at 1:30 pm on Thursday, September 26, 2024, at St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Church in Harrah followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 2 pm. Committal services will be at the Jones IOOF Cemetery in Jones.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in his memory to the Alzheimer’s Association of Oklahoma City, 6601 Broadway Extension, Suite 200, Oklahoma City, OK, 73116 or at: https://www.alz.org/oklahoma.

Arrangements are under the care of Asa Smith Funeral Service, Harrah. Online condolences may be made at www.asasmith.net.

All who knew Tommy Nation were constantly reminded by him, what a WONDERFUL LIFE that he had!