Harry Arthur Redus II worked hard and played hard for 69 years. He was born April 11, 1949 in Houston TX. His father Harry Arthur Redus and mother Pauline Marie Hoover raised their family, JB, Diane, Harry and Marilyn, from Houston to Dallas to Tulsa. Harry Arthur graduated from Memorial High School in Tulsa, after a lively and exciting time in school.
He joined the US Air Force in 1969 and began a lively and exciting career. He served a year in VietNam, maintaining the electronic equipment on the ABCCC aircraft that controlled the air war. He returned to the states and married Linda Corinne Willey in 1970. They raised two children, Harry Arthur Redus III and Melissa Ann while moving from base to base. Bergstrom AFB in Austin TX where he worked on President Johnson’s plane, Offutt AFB in Omaha NE where he flew onboard the SAC ABNCP and kept all the generals entertained, Hickam AFB where he flew onboard the CINCPAC ABNCP and raced dragsters on the island, Tinker AFB in Oklahoma City OK where he was the technical advisor to all of the EC135 aircraft flown as ABNCP all over the world. His beloved wife Linda passed away of cancer there. And he married Ingabee Rose Holdren there, in 1989 in the backyard of their home in Choctaw OK.
Harry retired from the Air Force in 1991, the same year that his airplane was taken off alert. With his kids grown and graduated from high school, Harry took on his second career in 1993, owner operator of a small motel in Hugo OK. For twenty years he kept the entire town on their toes, drank coffee with the boys, built a portfolio of small town businesses and collected vintage cars. Harry played hard being the only mechanic in the area for Mercedes Benz, Jaguar and Bentleys. He traveled from California to New York to England to France, with car enthusiasts who enjoyed his company.
Harry enjoyed being with his family. Trey works in Tulsa as a welder and has two children, Trey Alan and Elijah, with two grand children and one on the way,. Melissa earned her RN nursing degree at OU and her son Blake is in college. Taylin works as a heavy equipment operator . Melissa and her husband Charles Palmer are brand new grandparents, their daughter Lexi just gave birth to a baby girl Emeree. All of Harrys sisters, brothers, cousins, nieces and nephews remember Harry was always the life of the party at family reunions. Everyone has a fun story about Harry Arthur.
In the summer of 2017 Harry was restoring a 1998 Land Rover Discovery when he was diagnosed with bladder cancer. He went to Nashville TN so that the specialists at Vanderbilt University could help him. He kept them on their toes and they fought hard, but Harry passed away of cancer there. Late on the evening of June 8, 2018 he was with his family when he slipped away, just done with the cancer hassle. Harry Arthur always hated funerals, so we aren’t doing that. We will take him back to Oklahoma where he will be at peace. And always remembered as a happy brother, uncle, cousin, friend, husband, dad, and papaw.
If you would like to do something in Harry’s memory, you may contribute to The Blake Austin Redus College Fund. We’ll start with Blake and help all the grandchildren with their college educations. Harry would like that. Please send donations to: The Blake Austin Redus College Fund 830294 S 3530 Rd Stroud OK 74079 OR you can paypal our account: My2CarGarage@gmail.com
Thank you to all who want to remember Harry this way. He was so proud of Blake and all his grandchildren.
Uncle Harry Authur will be missed. I remember all the times he would wiggle his ears to make us laugh to cheer us up or to just see us smile. During the summer’s at grandpas house he would always try funny tricks on the water skies, or water board that is now on the bottom of Bull Shoals Lake. Such treasured memories of Uncle Harry Authur I share with my kids and grandkids many times.