1920
Charles
2014
Charles Weldon Kiker
May 12, 1920 — June 29, 2014
Charles Weldon “Pops” Kiker, age 94, died at Ussery-Roan Texas State Veterans Home in Amarillo on Sunday, June 29, 2014 due to complications from a broken hip. Weldon was born on the family farm near Happy, Texas on May 12, 1920 to Audry Schley and Ada Leticia Willey Kiker. Two days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Weldon took a bus from Tulia to El Paso where he was inducted into the Army. He received a purple heart, good conduct medal, and an Asiatic-Pacific campaign medal with 3 bronze stars for his service with the 27th Infantry Division during World War II before returning to Texas in October of 1945.
Weldon married Maudie Elizabeth Drake Caywood on January 17, 1947. Together they raised four children: Della, Gary, Daryline, and Charla.
A lifelong farmer, Weldon was thrifty and enterprising. At one point, he and his cousin Frank Kiker ran a side business hauling free manure from feedlots to paying farmers in need of fertilizer. After selling the farm in 1984, Weldon lived in Amarillo, Corpus Christi, and Albuquerque before moving into Ussery-Roan Veteran’s Home in Amarillo in 2010.
Weldon enjoyed being a Mason and a Shriner. He loved going dancing and was known to avoid taking a date to the senior citizens’ dances so that he could dance with all the pretty ladies instead of just one. He also convinced more than one naïve grandchild to bite into one of his favorite foods: hot jalapeño peppers.
Weldon is survived by his brother Cecil Kiker, daughter Charla Kiker Edwards, 11 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren, and 16 great-great-grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his former wife Maudie Elizabeth Drake Caywood, brother Crawford Kiker, sister Mary Ella Kiker Robertson, daughter Della Caywood Akins, son Gary Caywood, and daughter Daryline Caywood.
The memorial service will be at Happy United Methodist Church at 5 p.m. on Thursday, July 3. A barbeque celebration of Weldon’s life will immediately follow at the nearby Happy Community Center. Memorials may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project, PO Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675, or the charity of your choice.
Weldon married Maudie Elizabeth Drake Caywood on January 17, 1947. Together they raised four children: Della, Gary, Daryline, and Charla.
A lifelong farmer, Weldon was thrifty and enterprising. At one point, he and his cousin Frank Kiker ran a side business hauling free manure from feedlots to paying farmers in need of fertilizer. After selling the farm in 1984, Weldon lived in Amarillo, Corpus Christi, and Albuquerque before moving into Ussery-Roan Veteran’s Home in Amarillo in 2010.
Weldon enjoyed being a Mason and a Shriner. He loved going dancing and was known to avoid taking a date to the senior citizens’ dances so that he could dance with all the pretty ladies instead of just one. He also convinced more than one naïve grandchild to bite into one of his favorite foods: hot jalapeño peppers.
Weldon is survived by his brother Cecil Kiker, daughter Charla Kiker Edwards, 11 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren, and 16 great-great-grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his former wife Maudie Elizabeth Drake Caywood, brother Crawford Kiker, sister Mary Ella Kiker Robertson, daughter Della Caywood Akins, son Gary Caywood, and daughter Daryline Caywood.
The memorial service will be at Happy United Methodist Church at 5 p.m. on Thursday, July 3. A barbeque celebration of Weldon’s life will immediately follow at the nearby Happy Community Center. Memorials may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project, PO Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675, or the charity of your choice.
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