Hershal C. Powers

Funeral services for Hershal C. Powers, 76, of Sperry, were held on Saturday, May 3, 2008 in the Johnson Funeral Chapel in Sperry. The Rev. Adrian Lawrence officiated, with the eulogy read by Sherman Hanes.Burial was in the Rest Haven Cemetery at Sperry, Arrangements and services were entrusted to Johnson Funeral Home of Sperry.
Pallbearers were Scott Powers, Eric Cunningham, Steve Bosworth, Tyler Powers, Aaron Powers, Derek Moffitt and Stephen Bosworth. Pianist was Wylodean Lee.
He was born on Nov. 18, 1931 in Heavener, to William Deward and Blaine Lucy (Manifold) Powers. He passed away on April 29, 2008. He was born seven miles west of Heavener, in the farming community of Independence.
He learned carpentry, masonry, and farming from his father. In 1952, while serving as an apprentice cabinet maker, he enlisted in the US Navy. He served aboard the U.S. Navy destroyer USS John R. Craig DD889 during the Korean War. After his discharge from the Navy, he attended Oklahoma State University at Okmulgee, studying diesel mechanics.Upon completion of training he worked as an "on the road" mechanic for several years.
In 1965, he went to work for the Oklahoma Vocational Education system and helped to establish the first diesel mechanics program in Tulsa. He returned to the private sector and worked in Texas and New Mexico. Then he returned to LeFlore County in Oklahoma and worked for the county. He owned and operated a repair facility in Heavener. When he returned to vocational education he taught diesel mechanics at the Ouachita Correctional Center south of Hodgens. During this time he earned his Bachelor of Science degree from OSU at Stillwater. He returned to Tulsa again in 1980 to teach diesel mechanics at the Lemley campus. He continued his education and earned his master's degree in Vocational Education from OSU Stillwater. In 1985, he retired, and he and his wife moved to their 35-acre pecan grove near Sperry, where he grew pecans and custom baled hay.
He is survived by sons, Randell Powers and Eddie Powers; daughters, Linda Schoeneman and Sherry Moffitt; 14 grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; sister, Linda Powers Martin; and brother, Manual Jackson Powers.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Alice Powers; father, William D. Powers; mother, Blaine L. (Manifold) Powers; and brothers, William Blaine Powers and Gilbert Ray Powers.