Col. Robert James McCaffree, born February 10, 1929, in Borger, Texas, died on April 30th in Lawton. A funeral Mass will be celebrated by his pastor, Father Joseph R. Ross, at Blessed Sacrament Parish on Wednesday, May 4th at 11.30 a.m. Rev. James D. M. Stafford will concelebrate. His body will be interred with full military honors at the Fort Sill Post Cemetery. Arrangements are under the direction of Becker Funeral Home & Cremation Service. A Wake Service with Rosary will be held at the Becker Funeral Home Memorial Chapel on Tuesday evening at 7:00 PM. Robert McCaffree was the son of Bradley Doras McCaffree and Sarah Ottie Phillips McCaffree. His family had deep roots in Oklahoma, and he enjoyed his Cherokee and Choctaw heritage. Most of his childhood was spent in Oklahoma City in a hardscrabble neighborhood with oil derricks in nearly every block. He joined the Army in 1946 when he was 17 and spent a year in Japan with the 11th Airborne Division as part of the occupying forces. Upon his return, he attended the University of Washington for two years studying engineering and architecture. In August, 1950, he re-enlisted in the Army. He graduated from Officer Candidate School at Fort Sill in March, 1952 as the Honor Graduate and became a Regular Army Second Lieutenant. He served in Korea as a field artillery forward observer and was awarded a Silver Star for gallantry in action on one of the last days of the conflict before the Armistice in July, 1953. He then became a battery commander in the same unit. He served in similar assignments at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and Nurnberg, Germany. On June 2, 1954, at Fort Hamilton in New York City, he married Nancy Farrell, beginning 57 years of matrimony. His beloved wife and their five children survive him. They are Lisa McCaffree Wade, with her husband, Lance Wade, Lawton; Benedict McCaffree and his partner, Emerson Bruns, Hudson, New York; Thayer McCaffree and her spouse, Cindy Herron, Austin, Texas; Sheridan McCaffree and her husband, Rabindranath Ramana, Oklahoma City; and Robert McCaffree, Jr., and his partner, Bryan Harrison, Los Angeles, California. He has three adult grandchildren, Sarah, Jarrel, and Taylor Wade, living in Arkansas and Oklahoma, and two young grandsons, Rabindranath and Aidan Ramana in Oklahoma City. He is also survived by a sister, Susan Schloredt in Seattle, and a brother, Donald, in Salt Lake City. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Philip. Robert graduated from the University of Maryland in 1962 and attended graduate school at Tulane University in 1964 and 1965. In 1971 he was assigned as battalion commander of a heavy artillery unit in Viet Nam and his later years in the Army were as Comptroller of three commands. In 1975 he was designated a Distinguished Graduate of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces at Ft. McNair in Washington, D.C. He also received numerous citations including the Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, a Bronze Star with "V" device, a Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Gold Star and a Senior Parachutist Badge. When he retired from the Army as a Colonel in August, 1980, he may have been the last commissioned officer to have worn the Glider Badge awarded to him after Glider School in Japan more than 33 years earlier. After retiring from the Army, he became the Director of Finance for the City of Lawton, a position he held until April, 1991. A broad reader with an inquiring mind, Bob's Christian journey led him to the Catholic Church where he was received and confirmed in 1957. Wherever his military assignments took him, he was an active member of his local parish, frequently a member of the choir and engaged in charitable work. For the last twenty years he has been an active member of Blessed Sacrament Church in Lawton. Beloved husband, father, and grandfather; faithful Christian; exemplary soldier and citizen and friend to many; Robert James McCaffree will be deeply missed. May the angels lead him into paradise. Memorial donations may be made to Hospice of Southwest Oklahoma, PO Box 2074, Lawton, OK 73502 and Blessed Sacrament Church, 12 S.W. 7th Street, Lawton, OK 73501