On May 19, 2023, Homer Eugene Bair joined his wife and family at the great banquet table prepared by our Lord Jesus Christ. He lived a rich 96 years and was not one to miss a good meal. Graveside services and burial will be held on Saturday, May 27, 2023 at 2:00 PM at the Bair Family burial site in the Osage Cemetery southwest of Agra. Services are under the direction of Matherly-Davis Funeral Home.
Homer, the second son of John M. and Ola (Sweeny) Bair was born in Agra, Oklahoma on July 18, 1926. With brief stays in Guthrie and Slick Wille, Homer spent most of his formative years on one of two different farms his parents owned located northeast of Agra. He began his education at Soonerville, a rural one-room schoolhouse holding grades 1-8, and completed his schooling at Agra High School. He spent his youth and young adulthood working on the family farm with his father and older brother, Howard.
Homer first met Dixie A. Jackson on a blind date arranged by one of Dixie’s friends. It was not exactly love at first site but God had plans for this couple. They were married January 6, 1952 at the Cushing Methodist Church before he was shipped out to Korea. To this union were born two sons: Larry Keith and Vinson Scott. Homer and Dixie were married for nearly 71 wonderful years at the time of Dixie’s passing on December 13, 2022.
Homer entered the Army March 11, 1952 during the Korean War and was assigned to Company C, 434th Construction & Combat Battalion. They unloaded at Inchon and were based outside of Pusan. Homer served as an engineer maintaining the rock crusher machinery for road building. He quickly demonstrated his skill and knowledge in mechanical maintenance— no doubt from his practical experience growing up on a farm. His superiors recognized this, found him indispensable, and assigned him to lead the maintenance teams. He was honorably discharged February 20, 1954 with the rank of Corporal. The 434th Battalion earned 3 Battle Stars for service in Korea.
Homer spent the bulk of his occupation as a butcher and market manager in the meat department of several grocery stores. He was best known for his old-school methods of cutting meat and for his out-of-this-world home-made chili, BBQ, sausage and smoked meats. His first job as a butcher was at Syl Eickoff’s IGA store in Cushing. After his army service, he worked at Safeway stores in Perry and Enid before returning to the Cushing IGA. He then moved to the original Escott’s store under owner Lloyd H. Escott. He spent about ten years in Hot Springs, Arkansas at Piggly Wiggly stores. Upon returning to Cushing, Homer worked at the large Consumer’s IGA in Stillwater before returning to Escott’s then under the son Harry Escott. By the time he retired, Homer worked about 20 years at Escott’s and over 40 years as a butcher/market manager.
Homer loved the outdoors. He spent many a day with the family at one of the lakes in Oklahoma and Arkansas water skiing, swimming, fishing and camping. He had favorite camping spots at Lakes Heyburn, Keystone, Fort Gibson and Ouachita that he and the family frequented yearly.
Homer loved to cook. He often joked that he taught his wife how to cook. (Not true, by the way.) He enjoyed grilling and smoking a variety of meats. He was very popular for his roasts, pulled pork, BBQ, and chili, all which he loved to share with family and friends. The pot was always empty when he brought it home. Every Christmas holiday season Homer’s greatest pleasure was making scrumptious, addictive Aunt Bill’s Brown Candy to give away to just about everyone he knew. People were known to hide it, hoard it and practically fight over it, which pleased Homer to no end.
In his later years Homer picked up quilting to keep himself occupied. He asked everybody for their cloth scraps which sometimes inundated him with a wealth of material. He became a most industrious and prolific quilt maker. He gave many of his quilts to family members. He also worked with his sister Mary to make quilts for her church’s quilting group’s donor programs.
Homer’s heart was always in the family farm northeast of Agra. He always enjoyed the opportunity to seed, brushhog, raise a few cattle and do general maintenance at the farm. He loved anything to do with tractors, whether it was the antique John Deer tractor he kept at the home or the tractor he maintained with his son Vinson for working the farm. He always looked forward to traveling to tractor shows around the state to display his antique and mix with the other tractor enthusiasts.
Homer is survived by his sons Larry and Vinson and Vinson’s son Scott, Scott’s wife Erica and children Cody, Jacob and Grant. He has one remaining sibling, his younger sister Mary Chesmore. There is also an extended family of nephews and nieces and such. Too many to list here.
Homer was preceded in death by his parents, Ola and John, an infant brother, his older brother Howard and nephew James “Jimmie” Bair. He also lost his youngest grandson, Vinson’s son Christopher Bair.
