Leroy Carlton Reavis

Service for Leroy Carlton Reavis will be 10:00a.m., Tuesday, February 27, 2024, at MMS-Payne Funeral Home Chapel, Burial will follow at Ramona Cemetery.  Friends may visit at the funeral home on Monday, February 26, from 2pm -8pm, with family receiving visitors from 5pm-7pm.  Leroy passed away on Thursday, February 22, 2024.  He was 83.

Leroy Reavis was born March 12, 1940, in Mounds, Oklahoma to Carlton Eugene and Marguerite (Heskitt) Reavis, he attended several area elementary schools until his family settled in Claremore.  He completed his elementary education and his high school education in Claremore Public Schools, graduating in 1959.  Leroy attended Ford Tractor School at the age of 15.  Following his graduation, he began working full time for his father at the International Harvester Motor and Technical Training Center in Dallas, in 1960.  In the summer of 1961 Leroy married his high school sweetheart, Nancy Leeson and they were blessed with a daughter Tamara Beth.  She was the light of his life.

When the family began ranching, Leroy was the “go to guy”, when it came to repairing and maintaining the tractors and dozers.  He was also the expert in building pipe cattle pens and fences and was quite handy when it came to all the extra activities of ranching.  Leroy briefly operated a drilling rig, mostly for water.  

In December of 1972, Leroy embarked on a new path when he joined the Claremore Fire Department under Chief Bill McKay. His dedication and hard work saw him rise to the position of Driver before an injury forced him to retire in 1983. Despite this setback, Leroy's passion for work led him to explore different projects over the years.  He found it very hard to do nothing, so he started a pilot car business escorting wide loads all over the country.  Then again, he retired in 2009.

Outside of his professional life, Leroy found true joy in being surrounded by his family. He cherished moments spent with them. Leroy was a man of integrity, hard work, and devotion. His legacy lives on through the memories shared with those who survive him.

Those family members that survive include his wife, Nancy; his daughter Tamara Christian and husband Tony; his grandchildren Cameron Christian and wife Courtney and Amanda Smith and husband Caleb; his great grandsons Calvin Christian, Carter Christian, Braxton Smith, Tryston Smith, Preston Smith, and his great granddaughter Tatum Lovey Smith along with a host of nieces, nephews, and other extended family and friends.  Leroy was preceded in death by his parents Carl and Marguerite Reavis, his siblings, Richard Reavis, Roger Reavis, and Margie Ann Casey.