Goodbye Mr. Stites

Memorial wreath, in honor of J.T. Stites, placed on the rotunda

 of the old Sallisaw High School by the 

Save the Old Sallisaw High School Association.

***The following is by Sally Maxwell, Senior News Director of The Mix 105.1

With great sadness and a heavy heart, we wish goodbye to one of Sallisaw's greats, J.T. Stites.

I always called him Mr. Stites, even though I've known him for 36 years. I called him Mr. Stites because I had great respect for this retired educator and legislator, who was also a good friend.

Mr. Stites was principal at Sallisaw High School when all three of my kids attended and graduated there. In fact, a couple of those kids may not have graduated without his help. I'm pretty sure he had a hand in getting them their high school diplomas. And I say that with a grin, kids. Now my boys are engineers. 

Thank you Mr. Stites.

Darling Daughter had a memory too, about skipping out of high school. She recalled, "He asked me where I was, and I said, 'I skipped out.' He said, 'Well, since you told me the truth, I'm not going to do anything about it."

Daughter said she then decided, "Well, from now on I'm going to tell the truth."

Thank you Mr. Stites.

I have my own Mr. Stites story. Once, while on break from the state legislature, Mr. Stites stopped at a barbershop on Oak Street for a haircut. To do so, he had to take off his new OU ball cap, a gift from his son. Everybody apparently got to talking about politics or whatever, and Mr. Stites left the barbershop without that very important OU hat.

Back in Oklahoma City he realized his OU hat was missing but he knew just where it was. Well, who you gonna' call? He called me, at my desk right across the street from the barbershop.

"Save my hat," he said. "It was a gift. I've got to have that hat back."

There was no problem. The barber knew where that hat belonged. I retrieved it and delivered it to Mr. Stites on his next trip home. And he told that story to everybody we met at the same time, including the last time I saw him at the Sallisaw Chamber of Commerce banquet last March.

Shannon Vann, Sallisaw businessman and former mayor, has a Mr. Stites story. Shannon is a 1986 Sallisaw High School graduate.

He recalled, "Mr. Stites took over a geometry class one day when the teacher was out. I think he enjoyed teaching more than being a principal.

"One day we were late getting back to class after lunch," Vann related. Laughing, he continued, "We ran right through those rotunda doors. Of course Mr. Stites was standing right there. We nearly ran over him. He called out all of our names before we got down the hall, and we all had to go back and tell him why we were late."

Darren Girdner here at The Mix recalls his high school days with Mr. Stites. He recalled, "I'd get in trouble and get sent to the Principal's office. He'd ask me what happened and I'd tell him. Then he would say, 'Well, just sit here for awhile then go back to class and they'll think we did something about it."

Bill Aydelott, now age 84, served as Mr. Stites assistant principal from 1974 to 1987. He has many Mr. Stites stories.

He said of Mr. Stites, "He was the most moral person I know, the most honest, the most modest."

The assistant principal remembered the two were attending a conference in Oklahoma City. After the meeting, Mr. Stites suggested a visit to watch the hotel's entertainment act. But Aydelott said he was tired and was going to bed. About midnight the lights came on as Mr. Stites returned to the room.

"There's a singer down there. He's selling sausage," Mr. Stites related. Aydelott said he found that hard to believe. He added, "I got up and went down to breakfast the next morning. Mr. Stites was still asleep."

Aydelott said he had to rethink the previous evening when the singer and sausage seller Jimmy Dean came into the restaurant and sat down at the table next to him.

"We had fun," Aydelott said. "We had a good time. He'd tell stories on me too."

Mr. Stites son, Tom Stites, took a few minutes to recall his father's stories. He related how he found it hard shopping with his dad, because everyone they met would visit. Tom Stites said, "Dad and I went into Walmart for a quart of oil. An hour later, we left." That's because everyone they met had to visit with Mr. Stites.

Tom Stites compares his father to the lead character in the classical movie, "It's a Wonderful Life." that character is George Bailey, played by James Stewart. The movie points out how many lives are impacted when one good person does the right thing.

"I believe my dad was the George Bailey of our town," he said. "He never said a bad word about anyone, and he helped everybody, even loaned them money."

When cautioned by his family, Tom Stites said his dad replied, "Don't worry. They'll pay it back."

Tom Stites and Bill Aydelott will be featured in a County Talk @ 2 special interview sharing stories and memories of Mr. Stites Monday, Oct. 5th at 2 p.m on The Mix 105.1.

Tom Stites said, "It's incredible. I must have received 400 contacts and emails from people about their experiences with him. It's unreal the people whose lives he touched. He had an incredible memory for students' names and even the year they graduated. He was the richest man in town."

Flags are at half-staff, hearts are heavy, tears are plentiful.

Goodbye Mr. Stites. We are going to miss you.

But your stories will live on, as legends.

For more news stories stay tuned to The MIX 105.1 or visit www.kxmx.com