Arvel Thomas Crosslin

Arvel Thomas Crosslin of Maysville passed from this life on Thursday, April 2, 2015 in Purcell, Oklahoma at the age of 100 years. He was born on November 14, 1914 in Tishomingo, Oklahoma to Thomas and Maudie (Jones) Crosslin. Arvel was orphaned at a very young age, so his uncle John Crosslin raised he and his sister, Dorothy as his own. Arvel was nine years old when they moved to Fairview and in his first year there, he completed three grades and caught up academically with his peers. He loved baseball and became a good player, good enough at times to play in men’s games. When he was 14, a left-handed batter hit Arvel with a foul ball, blinding him in his left eye and damaging his right. The vision problems forced him to give up school, as well as baseball. Arvel started farming with his uncle, who let him have a small plot of ground for his own. The first year he sold four bales of cotton for around $50.00 a bale, thinking himself a wealthy young man. He led a very interesting life. Once he and a friend went hunting and shot a rabbit and they were hungry, so they stopped at a house where the owner was gone and fried the rabbit. When the owner returned and asked what they were doing and they replied we are just cooking our rabbit. Accepting the explanation, the owner told the trespassers to be sure and put the fire out when they were finished. One time Arvel and a friend hopped a freight train at Wynnewood, hiding in one of the rail cars. They rode the rails across Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi and were headed back to Oklahoma before they encountered any railroad guards. The guard told them they couldn’t ride the train, so they hid. When they heard the train’s whistle, they ran and jumped on the train ladder. It was raining and they had to hang onto the ladder all the way from Gotebo to Ardmore. Railroad guards at Ardmore tried to run them off, but they hid and napped until they were able to catch a northbound train to Purcell and from there they walked home. Their train odyssey lasted 5 or 6 days. Arvel was a self-taught shade tree mechanic, buying his first car, a 1927 Model T for $20.00 in 1932. He went on to repairing all makes and models of vehicles and continued working on vehicles even after he became completely blind. For 18 years Arvel ran hay trucks, keeping them in top mechanical condition himself. Arvel loved music and was 15 when neighbors taught him to play the guitar and the French harp. For 15 years he played with a band at Elmore City senior citizens center and also performed at bluegrass festivals in Duncan and Lawton. It was a dance that he met his future wife, Ruby. She’d arrived with a date, but Arvel escorted her home and they’re married 6 months later. On their wedding date, Arvel and Ruby walked to the preacher’s house, and he was working in the barn, but stopped what he was doing, changed his clothes and performed the ceremony. Arvel never stopped dancing and he attended dances at the senior citizens center in Purcell almost weekly for nearly 26 years. He could dance as many as 37 sets in an evening. He finally gave at dancing at the age of 98. Arvel was saved and baptized in 1948 at a Baptist church in Purcell. He and Ruby always lived in the Purcell, Wayne, and Maysville areas. They raised four sons: Tommy, Kenneth, Chuck, and Dale. He taught them right from wrong, and although he required them to work from the time they were very young, he made sure they had time to play and just be boys. Fishing was always a big part of the Crosslin family life. Arvel loved noodling and along with his sons, extended family and friends, spent many days noodling in local ponds and rivers. He caught his biggest catfish, a 50 pounder, when he was 79. He noodled until he was 85, going out with a bang, on his last fishing trip, he landed several 30 pounders. In 1974 he and Ruby bought a convenience store on the west side of Maysville. Though blind, Arvel could recognize his customers by the sound of their voices. They ran it for eight years, until Ruby got sick and died from lung cancer in 1987. They were married for 52 years. When Arvel was 86 years old, he won the Against All Odds Award through the Ageless Heroes Program. He accepted the award at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and gave a speech on overcoming blindness. There were about 300 in attendance. He attributed his longevity to good, clean living and having God at his side. Arvel lived alone, with his family coming daily to help him until his passing. His survivors include his sons: Tommy Croslin of Maysville; Ken Croslin and wife Pat of Purcell; and Dale Crosslin and wife Linda of Wayne. Daughter-in-law, Wanda Crosslin of Maysville. Step-children: Hattie and Jack, and Shelly. 7 grandchildren, 19 great grandchildren, and 9 great great grandchildren and a host of other relatives and friends. Arvel was preceded in death by his parents; wife and the mother of the children, Ruby, second wife Faye, and third wife Doloris; son Chuck and an infant daughter and son; granddaughter Kelly Croslin Sims, daughter-in-law Peggy Croslin; and a sister Dorothy Shobert. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 pm, Monday, April 6, 2015 at the Winans Funeral Home Chapel, Maysville with Rev. Bill Blair officiating. Burial will be in the Maysville Cemetery under the direction of John Williams of Winans Funeral Home, OK. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.winansfuneralhome.com