William "Dick" Richard Knox

William Richard Knox was born in Bentonville, Arkansas, December 8, 1948, to WH (Bill) and Dottie Bland Knox. He joyfully stepped into the presence of Jesus on December 1, 2017. He was also known as Bro. Dick, Pastor, Preacher, Mr. Knox, Uncle Dick, Dickie, Grandpa, Dad and Honey.
When he was a toddler he moved with his parents and brother, CB, to California where he lived and went to school in Turlock, Modesto and Oakdale. He accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior when he was 12 years old. When he was a junior in high school the family moved to Oklahoma and settled in Inola where Dick graduated in 1967 from Inola High School.
Summer jobs in Inola consisted of roofing houses and hauling hay. While going to college he worked for two years in the warehouse for Hale Halsell in Tulsa and Dee’s Soda Shop on Campus Corner at OU. During those young adult years, he also gained knowledge and skill in pouring concrete, building houses, electrical and plumbing repair and odd jobs.
Dick graduated from Oklahoma A & M (currently Rogers State University in Claremore) in 1969 as valedictorian of his class. He went to OU that same year where he met Kathy Janzen. They were married August 22,1970. Dick graduated from OU with a teaching degree in secondary education. With their first baby, Dick and Kathy moved to Rogers, Arkansas in 1974 where he used that degree to teach middle school history and social studies for three years. He then worked a year building houses on Beaver Lake near Rogers.
In 1979, Dick was hired as a supervisor with Container Corporation and he and Kathy moved to Muskogee. Their family had grown while in Arkansas and a fourth child was born after their moved to Muskogee.
During his freshman year in college, Dick felt the call to preach. He accepted that call in 1981 when he left the factory job to serve as associate pastor at Eastern Heights Baptist Church in Muskogee. Dick’s
first full time pastorate was at the Okay First Baptist Church in Okay, Ok; and for the past 27 years he has pastored the congregation at the Mounds First Baptist Church in Mounds, OK. Because of his love for this small town and the investment he made in people’s lives he came to be known as the “community pastor”.
In no particular order, among his favorite things were wristwatches, pens, pocketknives, a good basketball game, lunch with his buddies, peach cobbler, chicken fried steak, the grandkids, conversations with his grown children, a game of moon dominoes, passing out jelly beans to children who visited him in his office, AHA! moments from the scriptures, observing spiritual growth in his congregation, mission trips, the Arkansas Razorbacks, visits with his extended family in Texas and Arkansas, a quiet evening enjoying a home-cooked meal and a game of scrabble with Kathy.
He was an accomplished carpenter and enjoyed using his carpentry skills to help others. He was a fixer of many things, expounder of God’s Word, and a faithful servant of His Lord and Savior.
Dick was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers, Carl and CB Knox and one sister, Mary Katherine Easterling.
Dick is survived by his wife of 47 years, Kathy, of Mounds and his immediate family. Matt and Megan Knox of Tulsa and their children: Chloe, Cooper, Colbie Grace and Caleb; Andy and Diana Knox of Mannford and their children: Tyler and Tiffany; Amy and Aaron Caughern of Tulsa and their children: Ethan, Levi, Katie and Evan; Tim and Nicole Knox of Glenpool and their children: Nathan, Micah, Abigail, Judah and Titus. One sister, Doris Sanders of Pfluggerville, Texas. Many nieces and nephews and their descendants.
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In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the OU Baptist Collegiate Ministry, 1320 W. Lindsey, Norman, Ok. 73069 or Mercy Manor, P O Box 1019, White Oak, TX 75693. Mercy Manor is a home for unwed pregnant teen girls, founded and operated by Dick’s niece.