Weldon Harris' Obituary
Weldon Dwayne Harris, 71, passed away on January 10, 2026, at Rolling Hills Care Center in Catoosa, Oklahoma. His health had declined over the last few years due to Alzheimer’s.
Weldon was born in Sherman, Texas, on March 16, 1954, to Weldon Viron and Mary Ann (Grounds) Harris. He grew up in Durant, Oklahoma, along with his five younger brothers: Billy Don, Charlie, Mike, Tim, and Randy. In his dad’s absence, Weldon took responsibility for his brothers. His mom worked two jobs at times, leaving Weldon in charge of the younger boys. To help feed the family, Weldon found bottles to recycle and threw papers. He graduated from Durant High School (1972), then went on to attend Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant, where he met Barbara Caldwell and earned a BA in physical education (1977).
Weldon and Barbara were married on May 24, 1975, in Durant. They were blessed with two children, Shannon and Terence.
A few years later, after they moved to Tulsa, Weldon’s jobs included working at the Toy Factory, Daylight Donuts, Edison High School (custodian), T.D. Williamson, and painting houses on the side. He also enjoyed umpiring for extra money. Shannon fondly remembers riding out to the fields with him on his motorcycle, where he’d umpire for hours.
In the late 80s, Weldon rented a booth at Admiral Flea Market in Tulsa and opened “Weldon’s Collectibles.” From that time on [regarding his collectibles], Shannon laughed, “He never stopped.” Terence’s first jobs were moving furniture and selling collectibles for his dad.
Weldon worked as a truck driver for 30 years (1985-2015), starting with Mayflower, then Graebel. His traits of being able to talk to anyone, counting every penny, and trying to help others whenever possible served him well in building his own successful moving company, A-1 All Professional Movers. Weldon and Terence went to/through 45+ states together, moving furniture. In his lifetime, Weldon drove over 2 million miles and ultimately traveled to every state but Alaska. He had a trip to Alaska planned, but the trip never materialized.
Weldon met Linda “Lin” Sawyer in San Angelo, Texas, on her doorstep because she’d hired the moving company he worked for at the time, Graebel Van Lines. Weldon and Lin were married in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, on January 2, 1999. They lived in Erie, Pennsylvania, for a year before moving to Ocala, Florida, where they lived for more than 20 years. Weldon and Lin enjoyed going on two Caribbean cruises. The first was for their honeymoon, and the second was in 2001 with around 50 other people from Ocala Palms. They also traveled to Hawaii and Las Vegas.
“When we’d go out,” Lin remembers, “he always held my hand. He was funny... he always had jokes. But then when the years passed, he forgot all that.”
Weldon’s favorite hobby (and the language he spoke best!) was all things sports. He especially loved playing golf, horseshoes, and softball. In Tulsa, he played softball, basketball, and golf with Woodlake Assembly of God. He also loved NASCAR racing, and Jeff Gordon #24 was his favorite driver. He even painted his golf cart with the same Dupont colors Jeff Gordon used on his car. Weldon and Lin attended sprint car races in Atlanta and Talladega, but most often in Daytona. If he wasn’t at the races, he watched them on TV on Sunday afternoons. If you ever wanted to know an Oklahoma University football score, or the stats on most any game, he was the guy to ask – even up to a few months before he passed away. Some of Terence’s fondest memories include summers spent riding in the semi-truck with his dad and pulling over on the side of the road to watch NBA finals together on a little TV.
“Dad was always there in critical situations,” Shannon said. “He was there with me when Ariel and Autumn were born. And he came and rescued us when we were in the awful accident in Pensacola, Florida. He drove six hours with a rental van to get us and another six hours back to Ocala.”
When Weldon and Lin moved to the Tulsa area in 2022, for the first time the whole family lived not only in the same country, but also in the same state. He was proud of his growing family and enjoyed family gatherings at their house in Bixby.
Weldon believed in God. He’d call Shannon and say, “Can you believe this is in [the Bible]?!” As he aged, he didn’t have the attention span to read the Bible as much. While in the nursing home, as long as he was able, he shared a room with Darel Blakeley, Jason’s dad. Darel, who served as an Assembly of God pastor in New Mexico, enjoyed some heart-to-heart talks with Weldon. Weldon asked him questions, and Darel made sure he’d heard the Gospel more than once.
Weldon was preceded in death by his father, brothers Randy and Tim, the mother of his children, Barbara Cooper, and sister-in-law Sylvia Harris.
Weldon is survived by his wife, Lin Harris; children Shannon (Jason) Blakeley, and Terence (Laurel) Harris; grandchildren Ariel (Cameron) Cruz, Autumn Harris, Aaron Blakeley, and Selah, Mercy, Trinity, Eden, and Judah Harris; great-grandchildren Dayja Arney, Joshua Stone, Grace and Faith Cruz; mother Mary Ann Harris; brothers Billy Don, Charlie, and Mike Harris; and nieces Cheryl Sheffield and Lois Harris.
Visitation will be Friday, January 16, from 5-7 p.m. at Floral Haven Funeral Home (6500 S. 129th E. Ave, Broken Arrow, OK 74012).
Funeral services will be Saturday, January 17, at 2 p.m. in the Rose Chapel at Floral Haven Funeral Home (6500 S. 129th E. Ave, Broken Arrow, OK 74012). The family would love for those attending to wear OU colors, for Weldon’s favorite team.
As Shannon said, “He saw the good in everyone.”
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