George Marvin Cheatham

George Marvin Cheatham

George Marvin Cheatham, 96, formerly of Fort Scott, passed away in Tulsa, Okla., Monday, July 20, 2015. George was born on Dec. 11, 1918 in Lupus, Mo., to George Marvin Cheatham and Eula Edwards Cheatham. The family moved to Valley Falls, Kan., where George graduated from high school. He put himself through college with money he made selling "good broke horses" to the cattle herders at Kansas City Stockyards. Majoring in business administration and managing the Phi Delta Theta house at Kansas University did not keep him too busy to fall in love with Edna Givens, "the best looking woman he ever saw" and ask her to marry him so many times she "finally said yes!" They married on June 14, 1942 in Fort Scott, Kan.

George was drafted into the U.S. Army as a private in June of 1941 and received an honorable discharge in December 1946 as a captain. He worked for Maloney-Crawford Oil Field Supply Co. and in 1949 moved his family to Edmonton Alberta, Canada, and later Calgary, Alberta, where he opened their Canadian branch and served as president until 1963. While in Alberta, he founded the Canadian Quarter Horse Association and served as its first president.

In 1963, he moved to Tulsa, Okla., where he served as president of Maloney-Crawford International. He then joined Struthers Wells and later served as president/owner of Allied Steel Products. While In Tulsa, George served as president of Tulsa Knife and Fork, Tulsa Farm Club, Oklahoma Quarter Horse Association, Oral Roberts University Titan Club and the ORU Golden Eagles Fan Club. George also served as chairman of the board of Tulsa Rotary. George was a cowboy at heart and owned a quarter horse ranch in Broken Arrow, Okla., at the time of his death.

He is survived by one, sister, Patti Stratton, Tucson, Ariz., two daughters, Mary Ann Cheatham, Chicago, Ill., and Aileen Cheatham Pollock, Fort Scott, Kan., two granddaughters, one great-granddaughter and several nieces and one nephew. He was preceded in death by his parents, three sisters Mary Lee Cheatham, Virginia Paxton and Alene Hanna, and brother Ed Cheatham.

Graveside services will be at 11 a.m. Monday, July 27, at the Fort Scott National Cemetery pavilion under the direction of the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home in Fort Scott.

The family requests memorials to either Helping Hands Ministry, First Presbyterian Church, Tulsa, Okla., or First Presbyterian Church, Fort Scott, Kan., and left in the care of the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home, 15 W. Wall Street, PO Box 309, Fort Scott, KS, 66701. Condolences may be emailed to expressions@konantz-cheney.com.