Ralph Janney

Funeral service for Ralph Janney will be Friday, January 30, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. at the First Baptist Church in Waynoka with burial to follow at Waynoka Municipal Cemetery with Thure Tolson officiating.  Arrangements are by Lanman Funeral Home, Inc. of Helena. www.lanmanfuneralhome.com Facebook: Lanman Funeral Home Inc.

Born to Ralph and Mildred Janney on February 12, 1936 young Junior was born in the family farmhouse near Quinlan, Oklahoma. He spent his young life, first through third grade, near Heman and Janney Mountain, nowadays called Two-Step. His great grandfather William Harrison Janney settled there during the Oklahoma Land Rush making a place to raise a family at the mouth of a cave near the bottom of the mountain.

As a small boy Junior would take his homemade fishing pole to the family pond, sometimes bringing fish home for his mom to cook. He was taught to watch out for rattlesnakes. Ralph Junior attended Waynoka School from the fourth grade to graduation when his family moved to town. He had an active life, once catching an albino rattlesnake which he sold to the Oklahoma City Zoo for $100. He played high school baseball as a short stop. As a guard on the basketball team, being fast down the court, Coach Stinson taught him to pass the ball to the center who scored most of the points.

He worked during summers for his dad who owned and lived in the Commercial Hotel. He also worked in the family bakery, where donuts sold for a nickel each. Junior cleaned spittoons at the family pool hall where he occasionally smoked a cigar hoping his dad wouldn’t catch him! More jobs included working at the railway ice plant where Junior talked about German prisoners who were employees. Another job was to call crews as a railroader.

Upon graduation from Waynoka High School in 1954, he enrolled at Northwestern University studying Industrial Arts. He was involved with the freshman choir traveling all over Oklahoma to perform. Two semesters later money ran out. Not knowing what to do, Junior joined the Marines and excelled as a Radio Telegraph Operator. He enjoyed the Marines and spending time in South Carolina. He played basketball on the Marine team as #15. Once again, his money ran out. What to do…when life makes a change, go to the Railroad. He got hired as a Santa Fe Railroad telegraph operator agent. He traveled on the extra board form Kansas to New Mexico for eleven years.

When he met Lois Bixler, they dated a couple of years and became engaged. Well, that marriage took place in 1960 and two children, Brad and Darla were later both born at EP Clapper Hospital in Waynoka. The family moved to Amarillo, Texas where Ralph Junior and Lois both worked in the Santa Fe Building in downtown Amarillo. Ralph retired from there with a thirty-year career.

While raising the kiddos, Ralph Junior began coaching Kids Inc. Basketball third through sixth grade for Brad’s team. He was patient and dedicated at being a good coach to all the boys. The family of four loved traveling in their first RV. One summer along with the family dogs in tow they drove to Eureka Springs, Arkansas. They camped out at a lake where they fished and Ralph taught Darla to swim. When they returned home a lot of discussion led them to start planning to put a pool in their backyard. Ralph Junior tended to it, calling it a “labor or love.”

Always looking for something new to do, the family purchased a lake home and a boat at Greenbelt Lake near Clarendon, Texas. The kids were preteens by then. Lois drove the boat while Ralph showed off his expert skills, teaching the kids how to ski. In less than two years a tornado struck, demolishing that fun. So, Ralph Junior bought a bigger RV to go on trips to New Mexico and Colorado. The family enjoyed fishing and snow skiing and shopping at art galleries. Ralph also was in several tennis tournaments. He was a year-round athlete! Some of his favorite trips included, Maui, Hawaii where he golfed and scuba dived and San Diego, California where he visited Camp Pendleton telling stories of being assigned to a General and driving him around the base.

As empty nesters Ralph and Lois decided to buy a lot at La Paloma Golf Development in Amarillo. Not only did he draw their dream home plans, he taught his little granddaughter to draw and now she is an art teacher in a middle school in Texas. His youngest grandson loves art as well, painting many businesses in Waynoka. They lived on the first hole and Ralph purchased a golf cart. He had a regular group of four men that had a tee time every day. There he had his first hole-in-one. The following season he made another hole-in-one at Tascosa Country Club.

Always seeking new adventures, the couple began weekend trips to Norman, Oklahoma for OU football plus tailgating with Brad and his three boys. When the grandsons came for summer visits, they enjoyed fishing and golfing with grandpa. In August 2015 the couple sold their dream home and moved back to Waynoka where they purchased Leroy Bixler’s home and remodeled it on the street where Lois was born and raised. Ralph golfed at Boiling Springs until his health declined. It has been fun being in Waynoka where Ralph Junior drove his golf cart around his hometown with his dog, Bella. It’s been just like the good old days of the 50’s, listening to the trains roll by.

Survivors include, Lois, his wife of 65 years; his son, Brad Janney and daughter, Darla Janney; grandchildren, Jake Janney, Blake Janney, Tate Janney and his fiancé, Thomara Propes, Breanne Ray and husband, Eric, Jayden Janney and fiancé, Laura Blair; great-grandchildren, Peyton and Paxton Janney and sister, Connie Haltom.

Preceding him in death is his sister, Gloria Janney.

Thanks to God for a blessed life. It seems Jesus has been softly and tenderly calling him to his eternal home for the past year.

Ralph Junior was a member of Ye Ole Squares, Starlight Dance Club, Tascosa Country Club, La Paloma Golf Club and/or the First Baptist Church of Amarillo.

A thank you to Complete Home Health and Hospice for their care. Lois is grateful for the friendships of Donna and Brad Perot, Tommy Treece and Harold and Ladonna Oliver and many others.

In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to First Baptist Church of Waynoka or Waynoka Senior Citizen Center through the funeral home.