Charles "Tom" Kite
1945 – 2024
LTC Charles "Tom" Kite, AKA "Swamp Fox", was born in Kearney, NE to Charles and Juanita, and was the big brother to Rod and Cindy. Tom graduated from Mount St. Mary's in Oklahoma City in 1963 and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business from Oklahoma City Univ. in 1971.
Tom enlisted in the Army in 1966 and was stationed in Ft. Leonardwood, Ft. Ord, and Ft. Knox before attending Jungle Warfare School in Panama, and deployed to Vietnam in 1967. While in Vietnam, Tom was promoted from 2 nd to 1 st LT before returning to US soil in 1969. He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel from the US Army Reserves in 1993. Tom was incredibly proud of his time spent in Vietnam and was happy to share war stories with anyone who would listen.
Tom was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Combat Infantry Badge, Seven Army Commendation Medals, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Unit Citation, the Vietnam Service Ribbon, the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry, Good Conduct Medal, Jungle Expert, and Qualified Expert with a rifle, machine gun, and pistol.
Tom graduated from OCU Law School in 1975 and enjoyed a lengthy career as an accomplished and well-respected attorney. Perhaps his greatest contribution was the time he spent volunteering with Oklahoma Lawyers for Children. Tom served on the Child Protective Committee during his tenure in the DA's Office, and served as an OIDS Contract Attorney. Tom was also heavily involved with the YWCA and the National Domestic Violence Seminar. Tom was appointed as an Oklahoma Co. Special Judge in 1996 and was instrumental in employing the use of Parenting Coordinators in divorce cases to lessen the impact of divorce on children.
Tom was a divorced father of two, Ryan (4) & Kerry (2), when he met Mary Ann, his wife of 45 years. Tom & Mary Ann married in 1978. Their daughter Heather was born in 1983, Megan was born in 1987. Tom was very proud of his family. Tom was blessed further when he became a grandpa. Tom is the proud grandfather of Nate, Daisia, Corinne, Love'Ya, Kyler, Mads, Logan, and Ryan Sophia. Tom was especially close to his grandson Kyler, and spent countless hours watching Kyler play video games. Kyler spent countless hours explaining to Tom how to use electronics.
Tom is preceded in death by his parents, siblings, his mother-in-law Betty, sister-in-law Kathy, and his best bud, Kyler.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Tom's memory to the Parkinson's Foundation, The Lewy Body Dementia Association (LBDA), Quilts of Valor, or the Gary Sinise Foundation.
Memorial Services will be held at 10:00 a.m. Friday January 12th, 2024 at Matthews Funeral Home. We will be live streaming this service in an effort to accommodate those people that wish to attend but are not able to. To watch the service CLICK HERE to go to our YouTube page. Click on 'Videos', then 'Live Streams'.