Elmo Stingley

Colonel Elmo Joseph Stingley, USMC, Ret., passed away in Stillwater with his family at his side on Wednesday, August 22, 2012. He was born on May 1, 1917 in Pawhuska, OK, the oldest child of Elmo Leroy and Nora Tinker Stingley. He was 95 years old. He always said he had a wonderful childhood enjoying anything a kid could enjoy in the hills of the Osage, where he was proud to be a member of the Osage Tribe. He was raised in Ponca City where he was amember of St. Marys Catholic Church and where he attended St. Marys School. He began his college education at St. Benedictss in Kansas, and earned a degree from Oklahoma State University in 1958.
He enlisted in the Marine Corps on Jan. 3, 1942. He served in the Pacific Theater during World War II, and achieved the rank of Colonel before retiring in 1972. He was very proud, as was his family, of his long and decorated military service.
Following WWII he married Jeanne Catherine Olbert of Woodriver, IL in 1948. They had two children, Bill and Sherry, and the four of them enjoyed his many tours of service across the United States. After retiring from the Marine Corps he became a successful real estate agent in Southern California, during which time he found great pleasure in collecting fine southwest art. In 1998, he moved to Napa Valley, CA where he lived with his daughter and enjoyed the area immensely. In 2004 he and his daughter relocated to Stillwater, OK so they could be closer to family in Stillwater and nearby Ponca City.

Elmo loved life and enjoyed socializing with friends and family. He will also be remembered for his infectious sense of humor and generosity. He was a loyal and devoted family man and was the perfect father to his ever grateful children. He is predeceased by his wife, Jeanne Olbert Stingley, his parents, Elmo Leroy Stingley and Nora Tinker Stingley along with his five siblings, Mary Jane Weber, Bill Stingley, JoAnne Parris, Bob Stingley, and Jewel Stingley.

He is survived by his son, William Elmo Stingley and his wife Karen Bloodworth Stingley, and his daughter Sherry Stingley Viner of Stillwater; his sister-in-laws Charlene Stingley and Billie Stingley of Ponca City; brother-in-laws H. Ray Parris of San Antonio, TX, Lee Weber of Ponca City, and George Olbert of Longwood, FL, along with many loved nieces and nephews and his closest friend, Walter Stendahl of Oceanside, CA.

Toward the end he was grateful for his long life and wanted everyone to know he had a good time!

A graveside service will be held at 10 am on Saturday, September 1st at Odd Fellows Catholic Cemetery in Ponca City. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to either Judith Karmen Hospice of Stillwater, 915 S. Main, Stillwater, OK 74074 or the Semper Fi Fund, www.semperfi.org, 825 College Blvd, Suite 102, PMB 609, Oceanside, CA 92057. Friends and family may leave condolences for the family via an online guestbook at www.pmcfh.com