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Allow me to tell you a little about myself ~ LeRoy Jones. Born September 6, 1932 to Ralph and Juanita (Simpson) Jones, whose parents had come to Oklahoma Territory near the beginning of the 20th Century; Milam and Elizabeth Jones from Arkansas in 1899, Henry Simpson from Tennessee in 1901 and his wife to be, Lauretta Owen from Texas two years later.
After graduating from Cowden High School in 1949 I entered into the family’s farming and ranching operations until entering the U. S. Army in mid-January 1953 for a two year “hitch.” I then returned home to again pick up those pursuits. I took on a “partner for life” when, on June 26, 1955, I married Sandra Joy Miller, who is also my best friend and greatest encourager.
We reared two daughters, Mary Cheryl and Cynthia Kaye. Mary and her husband Marvin Tacker live on and now operate our farming and ranching enterprises and have added more land to them. Their children are a son Travis, who with his wife Leslea and daughter Polly Kate and twin sons Luke and Logan have their own farm/ranch nearby, and a daughter Jill who, with her son Berick, also lives nearby. “Cindy” and her husband Eddie Landers, live near Mannford, Oklahoma with their daughter Kayla 21, a senior at Northeastern Oklahoma State University, and son Kyle 18, a senior at Mannford High School. Cindy teaches Radiography in Tulsa Technology Center and Eddy is a store manager for Hobby Lobby in Tulsa.
A few years ago, after hearing two cowboy poets recite on the Johnny Carson Show, I started writing cowboy poetry of my own, memorizing both mine, and that which others had written, and reciting them where I could find anyone who would listen.
Over the years I have recited at The Cowboy Poetry Gathering at Elko, Nevada; Oklahoma Cowboy Poetry Gathering an Oklahoma City, Ok; the National Cowboy Symposium and Celebration in Lubbock, Texas; Arizona Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Prescott, Az.; Nebraska Cowboy Poetry Gathering at Valentine, Neb; Durango Cowboy Poetry Gathering at Durango, Co; Beef Empire Days at Garden City, Ks; Western Oklahoma Gathering at Hinton, Ok along with many others, and numerous times for civic clubs, women’s clubs, schools and radio programs. As an Artist in Residence for the Oklahoma Arts Council, I taught and entertained in the Elderhostel programs of Oklahoma State University and Oklahoma University. In 1994, one of my poems, NIGHT, won third place in a state wide competition by the Oklahoma Conference on Aging
I write and sing some of my own songs, along with some of the old time cowboy songs. I have published two books of poetry and songs entitled “HORSESENSE AND NONSENSE” and “MORE HORSESENSE AND NONSENSE” and have made two audiocassette tapes of poetry and music and one CD entitled “SONGS OF THE PRAIRIE.” Some of my works are humorous while some are melancholy. Some are about children while others are about the very old. Some tell of everyday happenings and others tell of things that happen only in my imagination.
I write a series of articles entitled “LOOK BACK, LOOK WEST” for local newspapers. When the town of Mountain View celebrated their Centennial in 1998, I was appointed editor of their history book, “MOUNTAIN VIEW, THE FIRST 100 YEARS.” In 1997, I was a finalist for the Will Rogers Award for Cowboy Poetry presented by the Academy of Western Artists and in 2000 I was inducted into the Washita County, Oklahoma Hall of Fame.
Sandra and I celebrated our Fiftieth Wedding Anniversary on Sunday June 26, 2005.
With less time spent in the operation of the farm and ranch, and by playing golf only often enough to keep me humble, I am able to spend more of my time in activities such as this and in doing the work of an elder in the Mountain View Church of Christ where I have been a song leader and Bible Class teacher for more than 50 years.
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