Dr. Rev. Boyd Dean Ash 1925-2018
Memorial service for Dr. Rev. Boyd Dean Ash, age 93, of Chickasha, Okla., will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 7, 2018, at the First Presbyterian Church, 1302 S.W. “A” Avenue, in Lawton, Okla., with Elder Burrel Gambel of Chickasha officiating. Private family inurnment will be held in Cache Cemetery under the direction of Jackson Funeral Home in Frederick. Dr. Ash passed away on Tuesday morning, April 3, 2018, at his home in Chickasha.
Boyd Dean Ash was born March 24, 1925 in Chattanooga, Okla., to James Mathias and Lola Edith (Hill) Ash. The oldest of seven children, he was raised on the family farm there, with grandparents and extended family. He attended Chattanooga Public School and graduated from Chattanooga High School in 1942.
He attended Cameron College in Lawton, Okla., then went on to Tulsa University, where he earned his teaching degree. In the early 1950s, he attended McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, Ill., where he met and married Marian Freed on June 20, 1954, in Decatur, Ill. The couple moved to Kansas, where Boyd taught English, debate and drama in the public schools.
He began his career as a Presbyterian minister at this same time, serving at first smaller local congregations in Kansas, starting in Bartlett and Altamont. In Oswego, he was ordained into the Presbyterian clergy, then continued with congregations in WaKeeney, Hill City and Holton. The last church he served was in Chickasha, Okla., where they had moved to be near his family.
In each of his congregations, he led youth groups and was involved in the Presbyterian youth church camps. He was active in local ministerial alliance groups where he organized and led groups in travel to Israel and Scotland.
After retiring from full-time preaching, he served in interim capacity in various congregations in Oklahoma. Also in retirement, he taught at Oklahoma City University for nearly 20 years, interacting with multicultural student body.
Other lifelong interests began with game-playing in his family. The shared favorite was dominoes, particularly “moon.” Later came gardening and landscaping, for which he won city awards; he was always ready for lively discussions and writing not only sermons but other essays and articles.
He is survived by his wife, Marian E. Ash, of the home; three children, Philip Ash of Kerrand, Texas, Denise Lindseth and her husband Richard of Wichita and Jonathan Mark Ash of Omaha, Neb.; one sister, Shirley Slack of Norman, Okla.; one sister-in-law, Inola Ash of Cache, Okla.; grandchildren Michelle Saighman, Heather Wyrick, Dawn White, Jeremy Wolf, Rebecca Griffin, Ethan Wolf, Lindsey Ash, Taylor Ash, Noah Ash and Austin Ash; eight great-grandchildren; and a host of nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Jim and Lola Ash; two brothers, Richard and Dale Ash; three sisters, Evelyn Moore, Joyce Rhoads and Bettye Jackson; and one great-grandson, Alexander Ash.
Memorial contributions may be made to the donor’s choice in memory of Boyd D. Ash. An online guest book is available at www.jacksonfuneral.net
(PAID OBITUARY)
