Parents: Marine D. "Dee" Clark and
Edna Cordelia Dane Clark (see Marine
D. Clark and Edna Cordelia Dane family); James Abner "Jim"
Butler and Minerva Ann Peacock Butler (see James
A. and Minerva Ann Butler family).
Ben Mitchel (spelled with one "L" by his mother, spelled
with two "Ls" by Ben) was born at or near Bowie (Montague
Co.), TX, on August 4, 1900. He attended the Lone Star School
at Bowie, but quit in the seventh grade to work on cotton farms
in the area and around Lubbock, TX.
Ben moved with his family to Oklahoma, and helped his father
on the farms located at Prairie Valley and Keller-Newport areas
of Carter County. He also lived with his brother Joe and his wife
Cynthia at Wirt, hauling oilfield equipment with a wagon and team.
He later moved to Ardmore, and apprenticed as a barber in a shop
on Caddo Street.
Ben was already acquainted with Tenzy Ruth Butler, whose father
owned the farm adjoining the Clark farm near the Brown School,
east of Healdton. Ruth and her sisters often visited the Clark
farm, and Ben's sister Reba. Ben and Ruth renewed their acquaintance
while both were working in Ardmore. Ben earned his barber license
and, in 1928, rented a shop in Trenton, NJ at the urging of his
brother, Floyd.
In 1929, after the exchange of many letters, Ruth quit her job
with the Soutwestern Bell Telephone Company in Ardmore, and moved
to Trenton to join Ben. They were married at Doylestown, PA in
May of 1929, and continued to live in New Jersey until December
of 1929. They returned to Ardmore, and Ben worked as a barber
in a shop on North Washington Street, and Ruth returned to a part-time
job with the Telephone Company.
In 1931, Ben contracted "the walking fever" (maybe
rheumatic fever?) and was forced to quit his job. During his recovery,
Ben and Ruth lived with Ruth's parents in Healdton, and later
with Ruth's sister Bessie Dean Bromley and her husband John. When
Ben had recovered from his illness, he talked of moving back to
Ardmore. John Bromley, then a Healdton businessman, convinced
Ben that he should remain in Healdton and explore business opportunities
in the growing oil-boom community. Ben found work in a barber
shop owned by A. D. Brown, and later worked in shops owned by
D. L. Benson and J. K. Pipkin. Ben bought the Pipkin shop in 1965,
and operated it until his retirement in 1970.
Ben and Ruth had two daughters:
Marilyn Jeanette ("Sis"), b. October 6, 1931, Healdton,
OK, m. June 18, 1954 to Robert Eldon Lee of Healdton, OK. One
boy, Robin Clark, b. July 17, 1961, r. Hobbs NM; one girl, Tami
Theresa, b. May 3, 1963, m. Darrin Spearman (date?), r. South
Bend, IN; r. Hobbs, NM.
Margaret Nanette ("Smokey", "Butch"), b.
March 29, 1933, Healdton, OK, m. August 7, 1955, to William Harlan
Feldmiller of Gerald, MO, at Healdton, OK. One boy, Scott Clark,
one girl, Kimberly Lynn. r. 1973 - 1988 Lakewood, CO, d. December
29, 1988 at Healdton, OK. Buried at Ft. Logan National Cemetery,
Denver (Jefferson Co.), CO.
Marilyn was born at the former Ted Alford house in Healdton.
She attended the Sunset School, and Healdton High School. Bob
Lee was a classmate. Marilyn worked for Otis Gann Insurance. She
and Bob were married in the chapel of the Ardmore First Methodist
Church on June 18, 1954. Bob worked for Texaco, and the family
was in Pampa, TX. Robin Clark Lee was born on July 17, 1961. Tami
Theresa Lee arrived on May 3, 1963. The Lees moved to Hobbs, NM
in 1969. Bob died in Lubbock, TX, while visiting Tami for the
Thanksgiving holiday. He is buried beside his parents, George
and Gladys, at Hillcrest Memorial Park in Ardmore, OK. Robin lives
in Hobbs now, and Tami lives with her husband Darrin Spearman,
and daughter Amanda Lee, in Fairfield, IA. Marilyn still resides
in Hobbs.
Margaret Nanette was called Smokey by her father from the day
she was born. She attended the Sunset School and Healdton High
School, where she had a large circle of friends. She played clarinet
in the marching band. After high school, she worked for the Bank
of Healdton. She met Bill Feldmiller at the First Methodist Church
in Healdton. Bill was working on oil rigs in the area for Texaco,
and attended the Methodist Church because there was no Presbyterian
Church in Healdton. Smokey attended the Methodist Church "because
they had dances." The two were married in the First Methodist
Church on August 7, 1955. The two moved to Cleveland, OK, and
rented a small upstairs apartment. Kimberly Lynn was born on November
25, 1956, at St. John's Hospital in Tulsa. Scott Clark was born
on January 24, 1958 in Seminole. Bill took a job with the United
States Geological Survey after the children were born, and the
family lived in Roswell, NM, New Orleans, LA, Washington, DC on
three different occasions, and finally in Lakewood, CO, a western
suburb of Denver. Smokey worked as a sales clerk at Joslins in
the Villa Italia Mall after they moved to Denver. Bill and Smokey
both retired in 1987 and took their cat Abigail in the trailer
to tour the US. Smokey died of congestive heart failure in Healdton,
while visiting her mother during the Christmas holidays. She is
buried at Ft. Logan National Cemetery in Denver. Bill has been
married to second wife Eunice "Jan" Jansen since 1991.
Kimberly currently resides in Sterling, VA, and Scott lives in
Chicago, IL. Bill and Jan live in Lakewood, CO.
Ben fished at Mountain Lake and spent time at home with Ruth
after he retired. In 1958, Ben gave Ruth a note which said, "When
I finally retire I will wash the dishes." They were surprised
by a family reunion for their 50th wedding anniversary in 1979.
Ben died of congestive heart failure in Ardmore, OK, on June
14, 1982, and is buried at Hillcrest Memorial Park.
Ruth maintained their home at 509 Magnolia, Healdton, until her
death at Ardmore on October 7, 1996. She is buried beside Ben
and the Lees.
