Harold Tydings' Obituary
William Harold Tydings, 89, of Broken Arrow, OK, was born in Haskell, OK, on September 23, 1932. He passed away June 24, 2022, at Aspen Health and Rehab, where he lived for the past eleven months. He is survived by his wife of nearly 50 years, Ruth Tydings, his sister Mary Sue Tribbey of Enid, four children (Steven, Bill, Janice, and Susan), and four step-children (Stephanie, Stephen, John, and Roslyn), as well as many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents Burton and Mary Tydings, brother Bob Tydings, and sister Betty Bugg.
Harold graduated from Central High School, Muskogee in 1950 and from Oklahoma A&M in 1954 and later obtained his MBA by correspondence from Central Michigan University in 1978. He received a commission in the U.S. Air Force as a second lieutenant upon graduation from college and became an aviator in 1956. In the Air Force, he flew during the Berlin crisis of 1961 and flew missions to Asia, including Vietnam, before transitioning to the Coast Guard in 1962. While in the Air Force, he flew the largest cargo airplanes available at that time. In the Coast Guard, he flew search and rescue missions in the Albatross amphibian airplane and helicopters. During the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, he flew patrols along the coast. In the 1970s, he made three deployments on icebreakers to the Arctic. During his first Arctic deployment, he became a member of the Order of the Blue Nose when he crossed the Arctic Circle. Harold retired as a Commander in 1979 from his last duty station at Coast Guard headquarters in Washington, DC, where he was Chief of Flight Safety. After retirement, he and Ruth moved to Broken Arrow, where he continued his flying career as a flight instructor and taught aviation courses at Tulsa Junior College.
Harold was a member of the Church of Christ, Sons of Confederate Veterans, and Sons of the American Revolution. He traveled the world, including 48 states and 23 countries on five continents. He was very interested in his family genealogy, an avid student of the Bible, and the author of many religious articles, some of which were published in various religious publications. He will be missed by everyone who knew him, but especially by his family.
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