A service of Thanksgiving for Dillyn Franklin Culp will be held at 1:00 p.m. Monday, November 28th, 2005 in the sanctuary of the First United Methodist Church with Rev. Ray Crawford officiating. He will be laid to rest next to his wife in Woodlawn Cemetery. Friends may visit at the funeral home from noon to 6 pm Sunday. Services have been entrusted to Rice Funeral Service. Mr. Culp passed away Thursday, November 24th, 2005. He was 86.

Dillyn was born September 29, 1919 at Sherman, Ok. to Frank and Nancy May (Farrell) Culp. He was raised in Major County, graduating from Quinlan High School in 1937. Following graduation, Dillyn joined the military, serving in the U.S. Air Force.

On March 27, 1943 he was united in marriage to Nadine Johnson in a ceremony at Champaign, Illinois where he was stationed. While in the service, Dillyn obtained many skills, among them was technical engineering. Upon his discharge in 1945, they returned to the farm in Major County where he farmed and wired homes as rural electric came to the area. In 1955, the family moved to Enid where he was employed with George E. Failing Manufacturing in Quality Control. This led to his employment with Hesston Corp. and their move to Newton, KS. in 1963. While with Hesston, he worked as a Quality Control Manager until the mid 1970's when his job brought them to Claremore where he was general manager of the Danuser Division of Hesston Corp. They returned to Kansas in 1984. Following retirement two years later, they returned to their home in Claremore.

Although retired, Dillyn stayed busy, having obtained his real estate license, doing consulting work and remaining active in his church. He was President of the Fellowship Class for many years and was a charter and active member of the United Methodist Men's Assoc. In his spare time, Dillyn enjoyed reading and quail hunting. As a compassionate man, family was extremely important and always came first in his life. His wife Nadine passed away in October of 2000 and for the past four years, Dillyn has resided at St. Simeon's Episcopal Home Memory Center in Tulsa.

Those who survive and hold many cherished memories are his daughters Elyse Crites and husband Stan of Claremore and Molly Pufahl and husband Terry of Oklahoma City; a nephew, two nieces and a special friend and caregiver Maria Leal.

Besides his wife, he was preceded in death by his parents and a sister Marjorie Smith of Waynoka, OK.

The family has requested in lieu of flowers that memorials in Dillyn's memory be made to Saint Simeon's Episcopal Home, 3701 N. Cincinnati, Tulsa, OK. 74106 or to the First United Methodist Church, 1615 Highway 88 North, Claremore, OK. 74017