Page 208 - December 2017

The Ride of a Lifetime
Remembering members of our Paint racing family
The year 2017 has been one filled with great memories, laughs, love and also loss. As we near the end of the year, we would like to take a moment to remember a few of those that we have lost in our Paint racing community:
John Purcell of Ada, OK
Clayton Dean Keys of Bartlesville, OK Sammy Hester of Tulsa, OK
Mario Chavez of Sapulpa, OK
Judys Lineage of Tecumseh, OK
Izzy Legal of Muskogee, OK
JOHN PURCELL (Dec. 14, 1939–Aug. 20, 2017)
Winters on November 12, 1963. Together, they lived in Ada, Oklahoma, where John became the owner and operator of the Carpet Warehouse. Along with being an established businessman, John was a veteran who served in the U.S. Army with the 101st Airborne Division before being honorably discharged as a sergeant.
An APHA member, John owned and trained race horses for more than 20 years. Some of his most noted charges were Treasured Mayor, Onlytreasureofmine, Rene Too and Wego Too.
John died on August 20, 2017, leaving behind his wife, Joyce; daughters Sheila, Debbie and Tami; seven grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and his sister, Donna.
CLAYTON DEAN KEYS (Oct. 2, 1937–Aug. 2, 2017)
Born on October 2, 1937,
in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, Clayton Dean Keys lived
a life for his passion—horses— and knew he wanted a career in the horse industry. Along for the ride
by Desiree Heath, courtesy APHA
was his wife Dorothy Kay Jones, whom he married on November 22, 1963.
Clayton began his career as the ranch manager at Stan-D Ranch in Beggs, Oklahoma, in 1966. From there, he moved to Citation Farm in Jenks, Oklahoma, where he stood the accomplished stallions Triple Chick and Mr Meyers in the early 1970s. In 1972, he was hired by the All American Sales Company, which is now known as the Ruidoso Sales Company and remained with them until 1997.
During that time, he also owned his own sales company, Keys Sales Company, and put on two sales a year at the Tulsa Fairgrounds along with many dispersal and race sales. He was also the sales manager for many different companies, including Out Front Sales, Green Country Horse Sales and Purcell Horse Sales. Clayton was also part-owner of the Tulsa Holiday Circuit, served as a member of the APHA Racing Committee for many years, and worked with the Heritage Place Sale Company from their groundbreaking in 1978 until 2007, when he retired for health reasons.
On August 2, 2017, Clayton died at age 79. He is survived by his wife, Dorothy Kay; son Barry; grandchildren Abbey, Hallie and Jordan; sisters Carol and Lois; brother Jay; nieces Brenda and Kati; nephews Ken, Kelsey, Darton and Tom; and nine great-nieces and nephews.
John was born December 14, 1939, in Los Angeles, California. Shortly before turning 24 years old, he met and married Joyce Ann
206 SPEEDHORSE, December 2017
PAINT HORSE BULLETIN