Funeral service for Richard T. DeVilbiss will be 2:00 p.m. Saturday, September 11, 2021 in the Becker-Rabon Funeral Home Chapel.

Burial will follow in Highland Cemetery.

The service may be viewed by following the livestream link at www.beckerfuneral.com or by visiting the Becker-Rabon Funeral Home Facebook page.

The family will greet friends from 6-8 p.m. Friday at the funeral home.

After a yearlong battle of illness, on the 5 ^th of September 2021, Richard T. DeVilbiss, 61, of Lawton, Oklahoma slipped away from us in his sleep. Your gentle soul will be missed, but your battle is over and you are now in the arms of the Lord!

Richard was born August 12, 1960 in Darmstadt, Germany to Donald R. and Sylvia M. (Finney) De Vilbiss, the younger of two sons.

Richard's greatest joy was his son and the knowledge of how much an accomplished man he had become. Richard's greatest passion was teaching his students to grow their minds outside the box. Often unconventional in his approach, he challenged each student to expand their own horizons in accordance with their abilities. He frequently had students return years later to tell him he was the spark that ignited their thirst for knowledge. His many teaching awards attest to this passion.

But academia was not the only method of teaching he applied to his young followers. Having earned the Eagle Scout and Order of the Arrow awards in high school he continued working with Sia: The Comanche Eagle and Raptor Center, guiding many other young men into the ranks of Eagle Scout. He took up coaching soccer, mentoring two very successful soccer teams in the Crosby Park Tornadoes in 2001 and the Crosby Park Whirlwinds.

Graduating from Eisenhower High School in May 1978, he would work his way to a Bachelor of Science degree at Cameron University in May of 1986. After working at Goodyear for many years, Richard finally gained the pathway to his passion by completing his Master of Arts in Teaching on July 28, 2003.

He quickly established himself by earning five teaching certifications:  Intermediate Math 6-12; Mathematics 5-8; Earth Sciences 6-12; Science 5-6 and Physics 6-12 in 2005 and again in 2011. His honors classes produced some of the highest completion rates in the State.

He is survived by his son Donald Cody DeVilbiss of Nashville, Tennessee, parents, one brother, Melvin De Vilbiss and wife Victoria of Magnolia, Texas, one niece, Lisa De Vilbiss-Wells and husband Richard of Honolulu, Hawaii, one nephew, Christopher De Vilbiss of San Jose, California and step grandmother, Gertie Jameson of Lamar, Colorado and other aunts, uncles, and cousins.