Lonnie "Lon" E. Doolin

Lon married Nova Heffington in September of 1955 (65 years!).

Lon is reunited with his daughter, Dana (Griffin). He leaves behind his son, David and his wife Dena (Cox); grandchildren: Dallas and Dax Doolin, Joshua (Cristen), Daniel (Mallory), Adam (Ashley) and Andrew Griffin; three great-grandchildren (of Adam and Ashley): Porter, Nova Grace and Merrick Griffin.

As a child, Lonnie’s family was poor, but he was always loved. He had three older sisters: Winnie, Betty, and Delores, and a younger brother, Gary; all have preceded him. Lonnie’s mom died right after his 11th birthday.

Lon started his first job at age 14 at Paul’s Pool Hall, as a dishwasher.

On a warm night in Summer of 1954, he asked Nova if he could walk her home from the school dance. She “stumbles”. He grabs her hand and the two never separated since.

He took his next job at Schafer and Glick Furriers as a deliveryman. Lonnie and Nova married and then he went to work at the Wabash Railroad as an inspector.

In 1956, Lonnie was drafted into the US Army - 1st Infantry, Mortar-Battery, the Black Lions. He spent much of his time in the Army playing basketball, baseball and volleyball for the Black Lions. They were tough, winning championships against other divisions while touring and serving in Germany.

While serving in the Army in 1956, their daughter Dana Alice was born. Upon his return home from the Army, he was hired by Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company. Shortly after, he was hired by Standard Life and Accident Insurance Company. Their son David was born in 1962 in Decatur, IL and very soon after, Lonnie began his climb up the company ladder. Standard Life moved the family from Decatur, IL, to Forrest City, AR, Joplin, MO and, finally, to the corporate office in Oklahoma City, where he was later promoted to Vice President of Policy Owner Service.

Forrest City, AR was an important place to Lonnie. There, he made his important decision to profess his faith in Jesus Christ and forever cemented his place in heaven.

In the 1970’s Lonnie would spend countless summer and winter evenings coaching little league baseball and basketball with the boys of the Prairie Queen Saints, and Southside Sooners.

The family became members of Knob Hill Baptist Church in south Oklahoma City where he served as deacon, deacon chairman and high school Sunday school teacher. Some of his favorite times were having the teenagers over to their house on Sundays after church, playing basketball and swimming. He always made it a point to “wrap it up”, so that, everyone could get back to church that evening for training union and choir practice. Since the 1990’s, Lon and Nova became members of Village Baptist Church and they loved their Sunday School department friends.

In 1982, Lon joined Perfection Equipment Company in Oklahoma City as Vice President Sales and Marketing. His career there was short as he was led to a position as Director of Business and Industry at the newly developed Francis Tuttle Vo-Tech campus. This opportunity opened many doors that eventually found him taking his biggest leap of faith and begining a solo career as a private business consultant. He formed his company, The Business Resource Group in 1988. His mission to lead presidents and upper managers in strategic planning, customer service training and sales leadership found him busier then he ever would have dreamed. In addition to The Business Resource Group, Lon founded the Sales Boot Camp and helped many companies in the development of their professional selling teams. His company was unique as he made it a point to not just teach, but to work alongside in all departments to insure they were successful. His strong belief in accountability and not just “consulting” was how he measured and insured success for his customers. Lon retired from the Business Resource Group in 2016.

Through the years, Lon was a Dale Carnegie Instructor for both the Human Relations/Public Speaking and the Professional Sales Training programs. He also led the Xerox Professional Selling Skills program, and Customer Oriented Selling course, among others.

Lon was the consummate people person. He had a way of meeting and making new friends within a few minutes and always made people feel comfortable and enjoying their time spent together.

Their dog, Lucy, will also miss Daddy’s “secret snacks” and scooter rides around the neighborhood.

A private graveside memorial will be held for family at Rose Hill Burial Park in Oklahoma City.