Gene Raymond Bedingfield

Gene Raymond Bedingfield went home to Heaven on May 17th, 2017 at the age of 72 years.  He was born on March 16th, 1945 in Tulsa, Oklahoma to Burl & Martha Bedingfield.  He was a devout follower of Christ, a beloved husband, father, brother, uncle, cousin, grandfather and friend.  He lived most of his life in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  He met his wife Shirley in high school, and though she took some convincing, Gene & Shirley were married in 1964 at the ages of 19 and 18.  Together they raised two sons, Aaron & Brian, both veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces and living nearby their parents.  Gene retired from American Airlines after 27 years in various positions, the last one being in inventory control, where he traveled in Europe extensively.  Working for American Airlines allowed he and Shirley to fly to almost all 50 states and several countries.  Gene & Shirley loved to travel together, and for many years Gene could be seen cruising across America in his Mazda Miata with his sweetie by his side.  Gene enjoyed serving as President of the Northeastern OK Miata Club.  When the Miata was too small for their big take on life, he & Shirley traded up for an RV.  This allowed them the space to bring along their three most favorite travel companions, their beloved doggies Nyla, Sophie & Lily.  They also loved to travel all over with their life-long friends Lawrence & Katherine Hyland of Mobile, Alabama, and Mike & Linda Jones of Owasso, Ok.  When not traveling, he could often be found at the table studying the word of God.  Gene was a dedicated Sunday School teacher, deacon and member of the personnel committee and managed to find time to sing in the choir at Eastwood Baptist Church where he was a long-time member.  He loved serving the Lord in these capacities, though nothing made him happier than singing loud praises to Jesus.  Singing was a great talent of Gene’s, and he enjoyed being in the choir, as well as a member of Gloryland Transfer, a men’s singing group.  Gene had a wonderful sense of humor and was never short of a funny story to tell.  He loved spending time with his family, playing games and teaching his grandchildren how to drive in his super fun Miatas.  Gene had great advice for anyone in need, was kind and personable and a joy to be around.  Gene is survived by his living wife of 53 years, Shirley Bedingfield of Tulsa, Oklahoma; his two sons Aaron (Dulce) Bedingfield of Bixby, Oklahoma and Brian (Shelley) Bedingfield of Tulsa, Oklahoma.  His six grandchildren Captain Joseph (Candice) Bedingfield of Fayetteville, North Carolina; Kate (Thomas) Collins of Tulsa Oklahoma; Christian (Valerie) Bedingfield of Tulsa, Oklahoma; Sarah (Bradley) Speer of Kansas City, Missouri; Colton Bedingfield of Tulsa Oklahoma; and Ashlyn Bedingfield of Tulsa, Oklahoma; as well as his siblings, brother Dennis (Sharon) Bedingfield of Buena Vista, Colorado; and sister Beryl (Bill) Cook of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.  Gene is also survived by many loving nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts and uncles.  He was preceded in death by his parents Burl and Martha Bedingfield.  Gene’s wishers were to cremated and his life celebrated at a lively memorial service.  Gene was an ardent supporter of Gideon’s International, an evangelical Christian association founded 1899 in Wisconsin.  The Gideon’s primary activity is distributing copies of the Bible free of charge.  Donations to Gideon’s International can be made in lieu of flowers and donations to the family.