Reverend Stanley Delton Padgett

Heaven called home one of its most passionate ambassadors, the Reverend Stanley Padgett, on November 12, 2023. Reverend Padgett went to his Lord surrounded by family and the music of his favorite hymns, at age 90, following a life of service to God spanning over 70 years. Reverend Padgett was born in Long Beach, CA on Sept 27, 1933. He was raised in Alma, Kansas on his ancestral Thoes family farm that had been established in the 1854. He would have graduated high school from Alma High School in 1951, but he enlisted in the Navy in 1950 to fight in the Korean War which started that year. He served as a radioman on the USS Philippine Sea until his honorable discharge in July 1954. Stanley’s plan once the war ended was to complete college and become a lawyer. However, God had other ideas. Stanley witnessed the death of a shipmate, which had a profound effect on him, and he decided to use his talents to become a minister and make his life’s work spreading the Gospel of the Lord. When he was discharged after the war, he returned to Kansas and attended St. John’s College in Winfield, Kansas, and then Concordia Lutheran Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, where he graduated in 1958. He became an ordained minister on May 31, 1961. While at Concordia Seminary, he worked as an orderly at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, and saw a young nurse, Norma Hauschild, doing her rounds. He instantly knew she was the woman he wanted to marry, and they were married on July 5, 1957. Over 63 years of marriage, they had eight children, one of whom died from birth defects. Education and work ethic were very important to Stanley and Norma, and all seven children graduated from Apache High School and went on to receive Bachelor degrees from Oklahoma State University and multiple advanced degrees. The children established the Padgett Endowed Presidential Scholarship in their parents’ honor at Oklahoma State University in 2002, which is awarded every year to a deserving sophomore at OSU from a rural Oklahoma community. Later in his life, his greatest joy was being with his grandchildren, driving thousands of miles across Oklahoma and Texas to be present in their daily lives whether it be after-school shuttling, attending school programs, or cheering at sports events. Reverend Padgett was a dedicated evangelist who brought the Lord’s Word to several churches and communities over his 70-year career. He served as a minister in Drake, Missouri; Russell, Kansas; Sullivan, Missouri; Fords, New Jersey and as a missionary in Wabag, New Guinea. He and Norma moved to Apache, Oklahoma in 1972 where he served congregations in Apache, Chickasha, Cyril, and Anadarko and as a Civil Air Patrol Chaplain. He also taught courses in religion at USAO in Chickasha and was the Chaplain for the Cyril oil refinery in the 1970’s. He loved his country churches, and spent many years driving between three church services every Sunday morning to spread God’s word. His last sermon was preached by telephone on November 5, 2023 to the congregation of Peace Lutheran Church, Cyril. Stanley is survived by his children: Paul Padgett and wife Sherri of Apache, OK; John Padgett and wife Natalia of Austin, TX; Michael Padgett of Stillwater, OK; Martha Ross and husband Kimble of Vilas, NC; Elizabeth Herink and husband Dan of Houston, TX; and Rebekah Cooksey and husband Jim of Prosper, TX; his siblings and their families: Carol Heflin, Judy Padgett, Patsy Willer, and Buddy Padgett; and 10 grandchildren, one great-grandchild, and numerous nephews and nieces. Stanley is preceded in death by his wife, Norma Hauschild Padgett, his parents, Everett and Alberta Padgett, son Philip Padgett, daughter Rachel Padgett, and brother Orman Padgett. A Memorial Service to celebrate his life will be held at Peace Lutheran Church, 427 S. Baskett, Cyril, Oklahoma at 2:00 pm on November 22, 2023. A funeral will be held in his childhood church, St. John Lutheran Church in Alma, Kansas at 11:00 am on November 24, 2023 followed by burial in the Alma City Cemetery. Everyone is welcome to pay respects at either service. Online condolences may be given at www.campanellastewart.com; memorial donations may be made to Peace Lutheran Church in Cyril.