 A
man of many talents was my father-in-law. He was a carpenter, a
naturalist by hobby, a wonderful photographer, a hunter, a fisherman, a
rock hound and he worked in the oil company here at Ponca City,
Oklahoma. He first worked for the City Service Oil Company and retired
from Conoco. Some of the homes the family owned he built.
Like the Floods he was a quiet man. He
would open up and elaborate on a subject if he was questioned about it.
There was no end to his knowledge as to that of a self taught
naturalist. The last thing he did was especially beautiful and that was
a photographic record of wild flowers from all over the area and into
other states. Physically he was outstanding in his stamina. Wenona
Medler, his wife, made the comment, "I believe John can walk up the
side of a wall."
John loved to garden. He kept his yard
carefully and lovingly. The pecans he planted early on were close to the
water table and he always had plenty for his and our family as well. The
small garden space he kept with deep mulch until the soil itself was
like compost, rich and productive.
 We
have saved his rock collection since, they are so beautiful. They are on
display on our front patio. On one occasion a man who has a degree in
geology came to visit us. He was very much enthralled with the
collection. He could name the many different kinds of rocks, telling
about their strata, etc. until it was an opening up of a new
understanding. I believe if time had permitted maybe John would have
become more active in making jewelry since a number of his books were of
using the different beautiful stones in their own jewelry mountings.
Truthfully, I don't believe John ever had
an enemy. He was accommodating, quiet, a hard worker and he was strong
in his Christian faith. He loved to sing in Church and had a very
melodious rich singing voice.
Shortly after he retired, Wenona and him,
traveled extensively in the United States and Canada. They would leave
the middle of the country travel to New York City, up into Canada, back
down to Georgia, Florida and then on into Texas, Arizona, Utah all in
one continuous trip. The Floods are natural navigators and they seem to
love the challenge of finding their way around strange country. On their
trips they saw many things from the Circus museum to the swamp lands of
Florida back up to the beauty of the Grand Canyon. Of course, much more
than that. They believed in living their life to the fullest with no
worry other than the joy for the present, in the beautiful country of
the United States.
John Wesley
Flood died on March 18, 2003.
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