John David Breedlove

John David Breedlove, 77, of Fort Smith passed away on February 13, 2019, in Maryland after a long battle with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). He was born February 23, 1941, in Muldrow, Okla., to Mattie Nell (Johnston) and Walton David "Bud" Breedlove, Jr. He grew up with 7 siblings, many cousins and lifelong friends. One adventure was biking from Muldrow to Fort Smith in the early 1950s with a small group of friends and brothers to ride bikes in a rodeo parade, to earn free tickets to the rodeo. A few years later he and a friend paid for a flight in a small plane over Fort Smith, then walked home using a railroad bridge, barely missing a run-in with a train. He had another scare after returning from Boy Scout Camp one summer when he couldn't find his house because it had burned down while he was away. His family had forgotten to send someone to meet the bus to let him know everyone had survived. His earliest jobs included working on his grandfather's land and in his parents' restaurant and bar, and various small ventures like selling handmade fishing lures, animal furs, and running errands for poker players. After high school, he drove west on Route 66 with friends to work in California, having another close call while working on a friend's '55 Chevy, which fell off the jack onto his head. He joined the Army, which took him to France and Belgium, and met his future wife, an English nurse, at the American Hospital in Paris, where he worked as an Army personnel administrator. They married in England in 1968 and moved back to Muldrow. It was a short-lived union but resulted in a lasting friendship and two daughters who inherited his appreciation for his deep roots and community in Oklahoma. He earned enough credits to graduate from U of A - Fayetteville, but found he was more interested in taking classes in subjects he wanted to learn rather than classes required for graduation. In the 1970s, he was a swing shift supervisor at Gould Battery, then worked with his brother until retirement as an electronics technician on video games, juke boxes, pinball machines and other equipment. He was mostly self-taught in electronics but reached a level where he was able to design a new and improved version of a basketball scoring game which was bought as far away as Kuwait. In middle-age he took up dancing after learning to tango for a dance with his ex-wife at a daughter's wedding. Favorite pastimes in his mid to later years included bowling doubles with his mother, golf and road trips with his buddies, working on his car with his daughters and grandson, talking politics, and ironically (since he had spent his youth avoiding them) family gatherings. He loved life and his family and friends in Oklahoma, Arkansas and beyond. John David was preceded in death by his parents and two brothers, Jim Breedlove and William Joe "Bill" Breedlove. Survivors include two daughters, Nicole Breedlove (and Mike Leachman) of Silver Spring, Md., and Jennifer Breedlove of Apex, N.C.; three sisters, Donna Kay (and Leonard) Russell of Muldrow, Carolyn Walker of Celina, Texas, and Louise Williams of Muldrow; two brothers, Charles W. (and Florence) Breedlove of Muldrow, and Owen Dave Breedlove of Alaska; one grandchild James Breedlove Leachman; and dozens of nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 28, at Central Presbyterian Church, 2901 Rogers Ave., Fort Smith, Ark. A reception will be held later that evening, 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Muldrow Cherokee Community Center, 603 N. Main St., Muldrow, Okla. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Lung Association, www.Lung.org, or the Eastern Oklahoma District Library System, www.eodls.org.