JONTRA, Austin - b. November 20, 1920 - d. April 30, 2008

[patyrn]

Austin Jontra, age 87, died on Wednesday, April 30, 2008 at his home in Copan, Oklahoma.  He was born on November 20, 1920 in Gage, Oklahoma, the son of Jess L. and Lucy Jane(Rokes) Jontra.  He was raised in Howard, Kansas.  He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II on the USS Mt. Hood in the Pacific Theater.  He married Ada Mae Russell on June 1, 1946.

Austin had been a baker and ran his own restaurant.  He worked as a carpenter and builder in Kansas and Bartlesville, Oklahome before going to work for the U.S. Postal Service in 1963.  He retired in 1982.

He was a member of the Copan United Methodist Church where he taught Sunday School and served on numerous committees.  He had served on the Copan City Council and served on the Board of the Grand Gateway Economic Development Agency for over 25 years.  He also served on the Grand Lake Mental Health board for 19 years.  He was advisor for the Grand Lake Oklahoma Conference on Aging for 10 years and was voted the Outstanding Senior of the Year by the Oklahoma State Conference on Aging.  He had been a member of the Oklahoma State Letter Carriers Union and was past Business Agent for the Joplin, Missouri Bakers Union.  He was a member of the V.F.W., the Copan Masonic Lodge, and was a 32 Degree Mason.  He was also a life member of the American Legion.

Austin is survived by one son, Gary Austin Jontra and wife Stella of Copan, Oklahoma; one grandson, Allen Jontra; four great-grandchildren, four great-great-grandchildren, and a host of nephews and nieces.  He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, one stepson Jim Stamphill, one grandson Richard Jontra, two brothers, and three sisters.

Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, May 6, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. in the Copan United Methodist Church, Copan, Oklahoma with Pastor Burt Todd officiating.  Interment will be in the Dewey, Oklahoma Cemetery under the direction of the Stumpff Funeral Home & Crematory. 

A memorial has been established with the Cornerstone Hospice, 3414 SE Kentucky, Bartlesville, Oklahoma 74006 for those who wish to donate in his memory.

(taken from the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise website)