Clarence Victor Koop

Funeral Services for Clarence Victor Koop will be held 2:00 P.M. Friday, August 29, 2014 in the Corn Mennonite Brethren Church, officiated by Pastor Tim Sandy and burial will follow in the Corn Cemetery under the direction of the Kiesau-Lee Funeral Home. Clarence Victor Koop was born on January 19th, 1923 to the late Ben & Olga Koop in Fairview, OK. Money was scarce at the time so the family moved around some. At age of 11, Clarence was hired out to Henry & Marie Penner to work for room and board to make it easier for the family as he had 5 siblings by then. At the age of 6, he started school at the rural school east of Fairview. Later he went to Golden Valley school west of Fairview, but because of chores and work he missed many days of school. After he went to Valley Center he dropped out of school after 7th grade to work and help with the care of children. There were 11 children. 6 boys, 5 girls. Times were hard during the depression so everyone who could, had to work. Clarence picked up work where he could when old enough including Wayman Cornelsen. He also went on wheat harvest with cousins Gene & Harold Fast. When the family moved to Fairview, Clarence and his mother went to work at Hallren Turkey Plant. He also helped Wayman Cornelsen on his ranch working land & trucking. In 1942 during World War II Clarence opted to serve his country in Alternative service and went Conscientious Objector and was sent to Ft. Collins, CO to work in government projects such as building fences and roads. This was an interesting time for these young men. There were 12 in one building and there were lots of company for sharing and playing tricks. He was also sent up in forestry to Camp Buckhorn where it was cold. Three years later on March 10 the war came to an end and the CPS camps were disassembled. Clarence went back to work for Wayman Cornelsen and later for David Martens. During this time he was good friends with his cousin Roy Flaming. As time went on Roy found a girlfriend whom he wanted to marry, and asked Clarence to be his best man. As fate would have it, Roy's fiancée asked her cousin Ella Mae Reimer to be her Maid of Honor, and that's how Clarence met his wife to be. After a 1 year courtship, Clarence and Ella Mae became husband and wife on May 21, 1950. They moved into an upstairs apartment in David Martens house as he continued to work for the Martens. Three months later they moved into a house nearby. In February of 1951 they moved to the country side outside of Corn to take over Ella Mae's parents' farm. It was not an easy feat as the farm was somewhat run down and the equipment was not the newest. Their first was also on the way. In April a tornado touched down in Corn doing tremendous damage to the Corn Mennonite Brethren Church and to the rest of the town. In August of that year Ella Mae's parents moved into town and Clarence and Ella Mae were on their own. Finally got the land worked, which consisted of the 'home place' of 160 acres and 40 acres northwest, with a B John Deere tractor and a 2 bottom plow. The house was old and had no running water but they had a stove and refrigerator. Ella Mae's folks had given them a bedroom suite. Laundry was done in a wash house where they carried in the water and heated it in an iron kettle. Going to the doctor was not always an easy task for the young couple as their vehicle, an old Ford, did not always want to run properly. But the Lord blessed them with a healthy son after a somewhat difficult delivery on October 15, 1951. Clarence was happy to have a future helper on the farm. Their life now consisted on raising their son, Ernie Dean, chickens, cows, crops and tending to a large garden. They borrowed money and bought a self-propelled combine (14 ft. Massey) and a truck (1947 Chevy) to start their own custom harvesting venture. Clarence teamed up with Arthur Dyck and traveled north through Garden City, Kansas up through Nebraska and ending in Wyoming. On July 5, 1954 while Clarence was in Colorado on harvest, Ella Mae had given birth to their second son, Loren Dale. It was a hot summer and air conditioning was not yet common. When Clarence came home from harvest and field work was done, he found a job working for Dean Jones of Clinton, helping build steel barns. The boys were growing and were trying their best to eat Clarence and Ella Mae out of house and home, but the young couple always seemed to manage just fine. Clarence went on to work with J.R. Bergman building houses. July 4 of 1961, Ella Mae and Clarence welcomed into the world their only daughter, Anita Jane. Over the years, new combines, tractors, and trucks were purchased and the family farm grew. 1969 Clarence and Ella Mae decided to build a new house in town. In March of the following year, Clarence and family moved into their new house that was indeed a luxury for them! Carpet, central heat and air and an attached garage was only a few of the things they had gone without at the farm house. 1970 Clarence's father passed away, the farm had increased to 3 quarters, the custom harvest business had grown and changed partners from Arthur Dyck to Roy Flaming. Ella Mae and the kids also went on harvest, helping where they could. In 1983, all of the kids were out of high school, some were married and had kids, and an oil boom had come. Clarence decided to sell some of the royalties and was able to buy more land, even some up in western Kansas. By this time there was enough things to keep Clarence and family busy at home that they quit going on custom harvest. Ella Mae was also dealing with health issues that kept her within her doctors' reach. After a bout of Encephalitis, Ella Mae was in a coma for 5 1/2 weeks and had to go to rehab for 6 weeks. It proved to be hard on the entire family, but it seemed to bring them closer together. The years that followed Ella Mae received a new kidney, Clarence and Ella Mae celebrated together new grandkids, birthdays and whatever else life threw at them. On December 13, 2010 proved the hardest on the family as Ella Mae had passed. By this time Ernie had taken over the farm and Clarence was heavily involved at all times. Clarence finally retired from helping farm in 2012 but enjoyed watching the everyday activities that still went on until he moved to Corn Heritage Village. Clarence was preceded in death by his loving wife, Ella Mae, his brother, Clifford and Alfred, his sisters, Eva, Frieda, Olga, Clara, Lorene and a grandson, Kevin Scott. He is survived by his children, Ernie Koop and wife, Sandy, of Corn, Loren Koop and wife, Linda, of Yukon and Anita Fransen and husband, Scott, of Clinton; his brothers, Leonard Koop, of Colorado Springs, CO, Benjamin Koop and his wife, Mary, of Edmond, OK, Wilmer Dean Koop and his wife, Sally, Taos, NM. He is also survived by his grandchildren, Anna Terry and husband, Matthew of Fort Wentworth., GA, Janice Koch and husband, Trent, of Weatherford, OK, Carolyn Martens and husband Levi, of Fairview, OK, Ryan Fransen, Kaci Fransen, both of Norman, and Chelsea Koop of Yukon, OK,; great-grandchildren Rachel, Tyler, and Andy Koch, of Weatherford, OK.