Doyle Sanders

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Biography

Doyle was born on 15 Apr 1947 to Calvin Sanders and Oma Frances (Wood) Overby (1930-1997), and passed away on 24 Jan 2022.

Personal Biography

Doyle was born in the Jack Thomas House in the early morning hours of April 15, 1947, in Leitchfield, Grayson County, Kentucky to Calvin Sanders and Oma Francis Wood. His father was 26 and his mother 16, and would not turn 17-years-old for another 7 days.

Following World War II, his father was hired as a Town Marshall of Leitchfield, but his dad could have been poster-boy for PTSD. The big city of Louisville pulled him away and he went there to work, he remained in Louisville for almost the rest of his life, he retired early age 62, and he and Doyle's step-mother Alba Mae McCorkle moved to Bonnieville, KY in 1985.

His early life was spent in Edmonson, Grayson and Hart Counties, but my teenaged years were spent mainly in Louisville, Kentucky.

He enlisted at age 18, and served in the U. S. Marine Corps for twelve years, spending two tours in Vietnam as a Naval Gunfire Spotter (F.O.). He was a horrible math student in high school, but he quickly learned, out of necessity, algebra and basic trigonometry.

After Vietnam, Doyle applied for and was accepted for Embassy Duty. Every U.S. Embassy around the world has a Marine Security Detachment that provide personal security for the embassy staff and the highly classified materials stored there. He served at the U.S. Embassy, Ottawa, Canada for a year and then the U.S. Embassy, La Paz, Bolivia also for 14 months. He retrained in armor spending five years in Tanks with deployments to the South China Sea in 1971 and the Mediterranean Sea for six months following the Yom Kippur War in the Middle East in 1973-1974 and two-and-a-half years in Public Affairs as a Combat Correspondent. Doyle could truly say, "I have been there and done that." He was medically retired from the Marine Corps on 24 Jun 1977.

Following military service, Doyle attended the University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona on the GI Bill studying documentary photography, journalism, minored in political science. Between jobs in 1980 he worked as the Theses and Dissertation Editor for the Graduate College of the University of Arizona. He really didn't know that there were government grants available to study quail droppings. He spent many long evening hours chasing lightning in Arizona. When Doyle moved to Oklahoma he picked up tornado chasing that could be done during the day time.

In 1992 the newspaper Doyle was working for in Tulsa closed its doors and closed down, he retired and his wife, Dr. Susan O'Brien, M.D., asked me to stay at home with our two younger children. He volunteered at their school and conducted interpretive reading classes during the lunch period. He led a fairly rough life as a Marine and paid the price with painful knee joints and hands and fingers, but staying home with his two children, exposed him to the toughest job in America, raising children. Doyle's hat is off to all stay-at-home Moms.

In 1983 Doyle began to take an interest in his genealogy, had time on his hands, and thanks to being married to a physician, was able to put many hours into gathering information and talking with long lost relatives who were also involved in genealogy.

Preparing to leave for Tulsa, OK

Obituary

Obituary ^[1]

Doyle Sanders, 74, of Tulsa passed away January 24th, 2022. He was born in Leitchfield, KY on April 15th, 1947 to Oma Frances Wood and Calvin Coolidge Sanders. Doyle grew up in rural southwest Kentucky with his younger brother Ronald Lee Sanders. His parents and brother preceded him in death.

In August 1965, Doyle enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He served two tours in Vietnam (1966-1968) and participated in 28 battles as a Forward Observer directing naval gunfire. Doyle also served as a Marine Corps Security Guard at embassies in Ottawa, Canada and La Paz, Bolivia. He then served with the 2nd and 3rd Tank Battalions in Okinawa, Japan and Camp Lejeune, NC. Doyle's last two years in the Corps were spent in the Joint Public Affairs Office as a Combat Correspondent, photojournalist, and later the Editor of the Camp Lejeune Globe. From 1970 to 1980, Doyle was married to Mary McIlrath and they welcomed two boys, Patrick and Jarrod.

After 12 years in the Marines, Doyle worked as a photojournalist for the Arizona Republic in Phoenix. He covered a multitude of assignments, including sports, fashion, presidential visits, state news, and local events. Doyle met his future wife, Susan O'Brien, while covering a bike club event at the Mogollon Rim. Married in 1983, Doyle and Susan relocated to Tulsa, OK in 1989 with their two children, Megan and Paul. Doyle worked as a photojournalist for the Tulsa Tribune until it closed in 1992.

Doyle became more involved with his children as they started school. In addition to being a stay-at-home dad, he built a dark room and worked from home as a freelance photographer. He participated in photography events with the Tulsa Photo Collective, such as the North Tulsa Project. In the mid-2000's, Doyle joined the Albert E. Schwab Detachment of the Marine Corps League, where he served as Vice Commandant and Commandant. He organized programs such as Blankets for Vets, an annual Medal of Honor Day ceremony, and The Moving Wall. He was active with the Union High School Junior ROTC program with his youngest son, Paul. Additionally, Doyle was very passionate about genealogy and is considered the foremost authority on his family's history.

Every so often, the world is graced with an exceptionally special person; Doyle was truly one-of-a-kind. He lived life to its fullest, accomplishing more in his 74 years than most people ever dream of achieving. He left a positive impression on all those who crossed his path, and his loss will be felt by many.

Doyle is survived by his wife, Susan M. O'Brien M.D.; his children Patrick (Angie), Jarrod, Megan, and Paul Sanders; and granddaughter Harmony Sanders.

Sources

1. ↑ Online Obituary

• Personal Biography created by Doyle Sanders