Thomas Hale Skaggs, 94, of Ponca City, Oklahoma, went to meet his Lord on Saturday, May 14, 2022. All friends are invited to join in the celebration of Tom’s life at 10:00am, Thursday, May 19th, at the First Baptist Church sanctuary, 218 S 6th Street, Ponca City. Memorial gifts may be made to the First Baptist Church Falls Creek Youth Camp Fund.

Tom was born in Ponca City on November 30, 1927, to Joycelyn (Newport) Skaggs and William Reuben Skaggs. After the death of his mother shortly before Tom’s third birthday, Tom’s father married Lela Marie (Fancher) Skaggs, the mother who lovingly raised Tom and his two brothers, Bob and Bill.

Tom attended Ponca City Schools, postponing graduation to join the navy for a two-year stint in 1946, receiving a WWII Victory Medal as a Seaman First Class aboard the USS Shangri-La. Upon discharge, he returned to Ponca City, completed his high school requirements, and continued his education with some college business courses. Tom worked for 37 years at Conoco, retiring in 1985 as Safety Inspector, and making many lifelong friends along the way.

After he returned from the navy, Tom met his future bride, Lois Marie Smith, and on February 8, 2022, the couple celebrated a 74-year marriage, strengthened by their love of Christ and their daily flirtations with each other. They became parents of five grateful children, nine grandchildren, and 20 greatgrandchildren.

Tom enjoyed being outdoors and spent many days deer-hunting and fishing with his sons, grandsons, and great-grandchildren, instilling in them good sportsmanship and the love of the outdoors. After retirement, Tom took up woodworking, taking several courses to develop his skills. Besides all his own kitchen cabinetry, he created many finely crafted pieces - tables with lovely inlays, quilting frames, clocks, cedar chests, rocking horses, wagons, dollhouses, and other gifts for family and friends. Tom was known for his honesty, generosity, humility, ability to see the good in everyone, his sense of humor, enjoyment of a great joke, and love of telling stories.

In 1967, Tom was ordained as a Deacon and served devotedly at both First Baptist Church and Second Baptist Church. He made repairs at the homes of widows, drove folks to doctor visits in nearby cities, distributed videos of services to shutins, set up church services in the nursing homes. In addition, he, and several other men with varying skill sets, including his close friends George Ivey and Tom Short, were on church building committees, collaborating to create spaces within the building and making repairs. Falls Creek Christian Youth Camp was a ministry dear to Tom’s heart, and every year for decades, he went to the camp to inspect, repair, and maintain his church’s cabin and grounds at Falls Creek. In 2020, Tom was named to the honorary position of Deacon Emeritus for his Christlike service and devotion to the church for more than 53 years. Only those who worked alongside him on the church projects, or those who received the services he gave knew what all this man did. He was stalwart and dependable, and enjoyed serving, but not for recognition and praise, simply out of his love for Jesus, the Friend he drew closer to each day through the words he read in his Bible.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Joycelyn (Newport) Skaggs, Lela (Fancher) Skaggs, and William Reuben Skaggs, by his brothers Robert Skaggs and Billy Joe Skaggs, and by his grandson, Joseph Wayne Skaggs. Tom is survived by his wife Lois Marie (Smith) Skaggs, his children, Roger Skaggs, Kirby Skaggs (Kay), Judy Marie Jensen, Lydia Young (Wayne), and Amy Lu Keen (Michael), by his grandchildren, Angela Skaggs McReynolds, Sarah Skaggs Franz (Peter), Bill Skaggs (Sunny), Thomas Jensen (Leah), Amy Jensen Kopke (William), Dallas Young (Angie), Judd Young, and Reuben Young (Hannah), and by his 20 greatgrandchildren.