Dewey Muirhead Obituary

On Wednesday, October 30, Dewey Muirhead passed peacefully at his home in Wewoka, Oklahoma. He was 102 years old.
Dewey was born on July 29, 1922, in Hughes County, Oklahoma to parents Earl and Dellie Jane Muirhead. He spent his boyhood causing a ruckus with his seven siblings, Sid, Mattie, Edna, Ples, Burl, Carrie Ruth, and Bonnie. As a boy, you could find him outside, playing hide-and-seek or playing with homemade corn cob dolls. He walked two miles one-way to school with a biscuit and ham in his lunchbox. Wherever Dewey went, a story followed. He went to school at Lone Oak, where he pestered everyone he could. After a teacher whooped him for tearing a page out of a book, Dewey closed the schoolbooks for good and got to work in 1935.
First up was the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), where he ran a slip and pulled logs in the mountains near Madill, Oklahoma. But his infamous "dishwashing hands" weren't cut out for cutting down trees. Instead, he befriended his way into the kitchen and filled hungry bellies in the mess hall. In 1939, he joined Manhattan and Evan Construction Company of Barland, Arkansas as a carpenter under the WPA.
Back in Oklahoma, his love story began. While at a church pie supper in 1940, Dewey spotted a beautiful girl selling pineapple pie. Her name was Inez. With nickel hamburgers and 25-cent movies in Wetumka, he courted his way to the altar.
On July 15, 1942, Dewey married his bride, who wore a blue and white dress her father sold a cow to buy. The couple went on to become one of the oldest living couples in Oklahoma, celebrating 79 years side-by-side.
Then he received his draft letter. He, along with 15,000 young men, landed in Normandy, France to fight in World War II. As an MP in the Army Air Corps, he guarded military aircraft with the 1061st Military Police Company. His service took him across France, Finland, and Germany, where he fought in the Battle of the Bulge. When the war ended, he said he got chills.
After the war, Dewey rode the Queen Elizabeth back to American soil and was stationed in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He was honorably discharged on October 13, 1945, in Amarillo, Texas. For his service, Dewey was awarded a WWII Victory Medal, a WWII French Normandy Commemorative Medal, a European African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, a Battle of the Bulge Commemorative Medal, a Good Conduct Medal, the "Ruptured Duck" Honorable Discharge Emblem, and an Army Presidential Unit Commendation Award for his heroism in World War II.
Post-service, Dewey and Inez briefly moved to California. But, after a day working an orchard, Dewey told her to pack her stuff. They were moving back to Oklahoma. The couple welcomed their son, Tommy Muirhead, in 1947 and their daughter, Marilyn Muirhead Moody, in 1948.
For the next four-and-a-half decades, Dewey toiled in the oilfield. He cut his teeth on derricks, then quickly rose the ranks as a driller and tool pusher. His resume ran deep, ranging from Sinclair and AMACO to Oklahoma Natural Gas, City Service, and Creighton Drilling Company.
Dewey seemingly had nine lives on a rig. Like he did all his life, he was known for always having something to say - hollerin' or whistling went wherever he did. Pranks were one of his favorite pastimes. He carried neckties in his lunchbox, which he would make his roughnecks wear, much to his delight. As a tool pusher, he was known for the meat smoker attached to his rig. Once, he fired up some roadkill and fed it to the big wigs.
In the mid-1980s, Dewey retired from the oil business and savored the fruits of his labor. From clocks to classic cars to collectibles, there wasn't a flea market or garage sale he didn't bargain his way through. Muscle cars were his obsession. His garage always had a colorful toy - a Model A Roadster, a Shelby Mustang, a Chevy Camaro, a 4-Speed Chevy Malibu - and every weekend involved a road trip with Inez to a car show.
There wasn't a pot of beans he wouldn't tear up.
At 102 years young, Dewey's advice for a long life was simple. Work hard. Be friendly to everybody. Go to bed early, and stay away from the sweets. Bacon is okay.
After two years, 10 months, and 20 days without her, Dewey reunites with his wife of 79 years, Inez. "I just want her to reappear and lay her head on my shoulder one last time," he once said. "I wouldn't even care if my arm went numb, because she would be there, smiling up at me."
He joins his mother and father, Earl and Dellie Jane Muirhead; his seven siblings, Sid, Mattie, Edna, Ples, Burl, Carrie Ruth, and Bonnie; and his daughter-in-law, Cheryl Muirhead. He is survived by his son, Tommy Muirhead of Wewoka; his daughter and son-in-law, Marilyn and Jim Moody of Wewoka; his son and daughter-in-law, John and Gretta Walker of Southend-on-Sea, England; his grandsons and their wives, Tim and Vonda Muirhead of Tecumseh, Jason and Kristi Moody of Horntown, Terry and Kim Muirhead of Shawnee, and Marty and Mandi Moody of Tecumseh; 10 great grandchildren, Macy Muirhead of Oklahoma City, Landon Moody and his wife Gracie of Ada, Kadey Durbin and her husband Daniel of Tecumseh, Colton Muirhead of Tecumseh, Lexie Fowler and her husband Hunter of Asher, Connor Muirhead and his wife Franki of Shawnee, Gabey Moody of Shawnee, Brody Moody of Tecumseh, Creed Muirhead of Shawnee, and Koby Moody of Tecumseh; one great-great granddaughter, Millie "Sweetie" Fowler; and one great-great grandson on the way, Rowland Muirhead. He is also survived by his honorary family members, Tim and Leslie Flynn, Misty Crowson, and Jessie Newell.
His family would like to thank Traditions Home Health and Hospice for their compassionate care over the years.
Funeral service will be held at 1:00 P.M., Monday, November 4, 2024 at the First Baptist Church in Wewoka, OK with Pastor Tommy Azlin officiating. Interment to follow at Oakwood Cemetery in Wewoka, OK.
Pallbearers: Landon Moody, Colton Muirhead, Connor Muirhead, Creed Muirhead, Brody Moody, Koby Moody.
Honorary Pallbearers: Daniel Durbin, Hunter Fowler, Tim Muirhead, Terry Muirhead, Jason Moody, Marty Moody, Lewis Johnson.
Arrangements by Stout-Phillips Funeral Home in Wewoka, OK.
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