THE FAMILY OF JERRY LAGROW

THE FAMILY OF JERRY LAGROW

Jerry Edgar LaGrow....March 11, 1937

Connie Joan Shaklee LaGrow.....August 24, 1938

Married.....July 13, 1957

Jerry and Connie LaGrow, began their life together when they started dating in

highschool at Jet when Jerry was a Junior and Connie a Sophomore.   Both of them graduated

from Jet Highschool a year a apart, 1955 and 1956 and began their higher education at Oklahoma

A & M College in Stillwater.  After their marriage July 13, 1957,  they continued their education

at OSU.  Jerry graduated with a BS degree in accounting in 1959 on a Sunday and became a

father to Penny Denise on the following Tuesday, May 27, 1959.  Jerry and Connie made their

first home in a 35 foot used trailer house that they pulled back and forth from the farm in the

summertime to Stillwater in the fall.  By the time that Jerry had graduated they had moved into

the home that his grandparents, Frank and Stella LaGrow had built 6 miles west of Jet on the side

of a hill.  

Jerry took over the farming from his father and farmed land for him and Francis’ sister

Bernice Lookabaugh and husband, Jim Lookabaugh.  After the first crop was in the ground after

Jerry had graduated he began looking for an accounting job in Cherokee.  Tom Morford, an

attorney, in Cherokee at the time, hired Jerry to help with the figuring of income taxes for

farmers in the area and others.  Two years later when Tom decided to move his practice to Alva

and join in a partnership with Don Benson, he asked Jerry to make the move with him.  He

worked for the two lawyers for over 40 years a piece until Tom’s retirement and Don’s death in

2004.  Jerry would begin working the day after Christmas at the law firm and work until April

15th when he had all returns in the mail unless some one would request an extension.  

Jerry served on the ASCS board for nine years serving under Gene Kroll.  He was always

very active in his church serving as an adult Sunday school teacher, Chairman of the board, the

Farm Trust, and treasurer. He along with Jessie Mary Reinhart were instumental in making

several history videos of church activities during a year.  He was treasurer of the Lions’ Club

there in Jet for years and served during the development of the Memorial Park on the east side of

town.  

Jerry and Connie together grew wheat, alfalfa, and had a cow-calf operation.  Many years

they worked together in the fields during wheat harvest and the planting in the fall or the

gathering of alfalfa bales in the summer.  

On September 10th, 1961, a son, Jeffery Steven, was born to Jerry and Connie, which

completed their family.  Both of their children were active members of 4-H and FFA and

graduates of Jet-Nash Highschool and Oklahoma State University.  The children had a swine

production project during their years in 4-H and FFA providing them with spending money for

their college years. 

Connie was an active member of the Jet Industrious Oklahoma Home Community

Education Group from the beginning of their life together on the farm.  She even served the

OHCE organization as a State Chaplain, Awards and Reports Chairman, and the NW Dist.

OHCE Representative in 2002-2004. She served the county organization as President for 2

different periods of time.  Connie was always working on some kind of craft, ceramics, folk art

painting, sewing, embroidery, or what ever happen to be “the thing” at the time.  

She served her United Methodist Church as a children’s Sunday School Teacher and

Junior High Youth Group and Children’s Church.  She helped out the trustees when the church

basement flooded and the whole basement had to be renewed in 2000.  Connie also had a

preschool for four year old children in her home for 8 years and taught children from, Jet,

Helena, Carmen, Nash, and Goltry.  4-H was always special to Connie as a youth and as an adult

where she served as a leader of clothing, crafts, and meat science.  She taught folk art painting at

the NW area Votech at Alva, spring and fall semesters for several years also.  Jerry always cut

out the wooden projects the students painted in the classes.  

Jerry’s hobby consisted of restoring old cars, pickups, and tractors.  He has a 1950 red

Ford Pickup, 1950 Ford Crestliner Car (like the one he and Connie started dating in), 1965

Cadillac Convertible, a 1926 Ford Model T. and several old tractors, M&M, John Deere, and

Case.   One of their grandsons ask his grandmother, Connie, if she knew why Grandpa didn’t line

all of his tractors up in a line.  When she answered, “No”.  His response was, “So you can’t count

and see how many he owns!”

Jerry and Connie have 2 children and 5 grandsons: Penny and Ronnie Gregory: Married

August 28th, 1982.   Children: Tyler Paul Gregory, February 28th, 1987, Daniel Austin Gregory,

May 11, 1989.  Home in Houston, Texas.   Jeff and Alana (Faulkner) LaGrow: Married August

14th, 1982.  Children: Jeffery Blake LaGrow, September 4, 1984, Austin Layne and Collin Steven

LaGrow, January 20th, 1993.