Arthur Lawrence Loveless' Obituary
Arthur Lawrence Francis Loveless, 77, passed from this life on April 4, 2016 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Arthur was born on March 11, 1939 in Nashville, Tennessee to Lawrence Ralph and Sarah Elizabeth (Hill) Loveless. He served in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Germany and was very proud of serving his country. Arthur was a retired Design Engineer that provided safety training to the Aerospace industry. He enjoyed traveling to Colorado and vacationed there many years. His greatest love was music with Jazz being his favorite. He played and taught guitar for many years and had a talent for composing music and poetry.He was preseded in death by his parents, Lawrence and Elizabeth Loveless; brother, Ronnie Loveless; and sister, Mary Alice Collins.. He is survived by his loving daughter, Tammy Sparks and husband, Joe; grandson, Matthew Sparks; sister, Connie Bausman; and numerous nieces and nephews.A intimate Celebration of Life Gathering will be held from 12:00 PM-2:00 PM April 11, 2016 at Floral Haven Family Center.Tammy’s letter to all those in attendance at our celebration of Life:Thank you all for being here. It means so much to our family. We loved him dearly. He had suffered so much over the last few years with his breathing. (COPD)He was known as “Buddy” to his family growing up in Tennessee. He wasn’t a country music fan but ran around with some guys in his teens that ended up becoming stars of that era. The likes of Carl Perkins. W .S. Holland who played drums for Johnny Cash and others. He loved to tell stories of their wild times.He loved being in the Army especially the time he spent in Germany. He dreamed of traveling there again and spent a lot of time looking at that area on Google Earth. Eventually the Army brought him to Oklahoma where he married and had a daughter and remained in Oklahoma the rest of his life.His greatest role model was his brother-in-law and my Uncle Dave Collins who lived there in Jackson, Tennessee. When they got together they would sit for hours on end telling stories as well as finding ways to embarrass their daughters. He was my Dad’s best friend.A few years later he began studying guitar. I grew up going to jam sessions and listening to his group of musician friends playing classical and jazz for hours. He studied with a few well-known professional guitarists. one in particular who was an expert in flamenco guitar who became my favorite. Dad taught guitar lessons for many years. He studied & taught music theory. He tried to teach his little girl – but that didn’t last too long as she didn’t want to mess up her manicure. And he spent a lot of time with his friends studying and teaching at The Guitar House in Tulsa. He took me to several intimate Guitar Concerts, my favorite being the up & coming famous flamenco guitarist Ronald Radford for whom my Dad was privileged to study under for a while. He was friends with many well-known local music artists who he supported and respected.One of the most special memories I will always have is growing up going to sleep at night listening to him play his guitar in his music room next to my bedroom. Even on the night before my wedding, I listened to him as I went to sleep knowing that would be my last night to be able to do that again.There was a song that my dad played regularly that became my favorite and I asked him to play it all the time. It became too difficult to play during the last few years due to arthritis. But in a moment I would love to share it with you – arranged and recorded by Ronald Radford. He had a multi-faceted personality. He was known over his lifetime for his great smile and being “the life of the party”. People loved my dad. He was fun! He had a sweet, gentle spirit with little children. But he was also known for his feisty attitude and standing up for his principles & not being afraid to express his opinions.He was an artist and carpenter, “it seemed he could figure out anything from working on cars, building things and teaching himself how to play classical guitar. He was a deep-thinker, a student of philosophy, a mathematician & machinist, perfectionist, a writer & lover of poetry and beauty and a gifted musician. But with those qualities, just as most creative people, came very deep feelings and much contemplation of life.But the most important thing to remember of this beloved man, Dad, brother, Uncle Buddy, father-in-law, grandfather “PaPa” – and the greatest thing about this man’s abilities and accomplishments – was that God loved him. I had a front row seat all of my life watching the ways in which God pursued my Dad. He NEVER gave up on my Dad. And so today the greatest thing to remember about him is that at the end of his life – he gave his life to Jesus. He accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior and within a few days he would leave this earth and his sufferings to be with Him. Joe. Matthew and I have been completely overwhelmed at the way in which God orchestrated things in the last few weeks of his life that were to prepare him for that moment.So of all of the words that one can use to describe my dad – the greatest and most important word for Arthur Lawrence Francis Loveless is “Redeemed”. And for a man who was never at a loss for words (even while his breath made it difficult in the last years), I’m sure if he could talk to us right now. he would say that was now his favorite word. Thank you all for celebrating with us today. If you would take a few moments to listen to my favorite song that I never tired of hearing, as you reflect on this life we’re paying tribute to today.Tammy Elizabeth Sparks
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