John Herman Bode

May 14, 1938 — April 12, 2026

John Herman Bode, 87, of Orlando, died in the early hours of April 12, 2026, at his home with family and his favorite cats nearby.

Born May 14, 1938, near Orlando, Oklahoma, he was the third child born to Edith Catherine Hixson and Denis Albert Bode. Starting school at Darnell in 1943, John learned what pastures he could – and couldn’t – cut through on his way to school, so long as they didn’t tell and no one got caught. He was excited to move in 1946 because Fairview was only a mile walk to school from their new house. In high school, he put his childhood on the farm to use, showing his prize-winning pig, Anna Rosebud, and being a member of the National Grand Champion judging team for cattle. He would go on to graduate from Perry High School in 1956.

Although encouraged to go to college on an agriculture scholarship, all he wanted was to farm, and he was already working on the farm he would one day own. He also worked for the Soil Conservation Service, spraying Bermuda and driving a tractor to plant grass. All too soon, though, grass-planting season, and the next fall harvest, came to an end.

As I-35 construction reached the area, he worked for Johnson Construction carrying rebar for what would be the “Old Camelback Road” bridge over the new interstate. Giving a friend a ride to a job prospect in Tulsa led them both to Oklahoma City. John was encouraged to apply, which he reluctantly did, but let them know he already had a job. Upon his return to work on I-35, his boss reminded him that section of the project did have an end date. Another offer from Oklahoma City arrived; this time during a delay in construction due to heavy rains.

In August 1959 he moved to Oklahoma City and started an apprenticeship in electronics. This would lead to a series of 6-month trainings where he earned a reputation of being able to scrounge up parts, or just about anything else a project needed. That was a valuable quality in the early days of Tinker Airforce Base and for a kid who liked to work on his cars.

There may or may not have been a number of drag races down the newly laid Reno, Broadway, and 23rd Avenues in Oklahoma City, and there may have been a few drives back to Perry where he would eventually marry Karen Sue Van Bebber. They lived on Lariat Lane with phone number Orange 7 04 76 – a number he could recall his entire life – and had their first child, John R. in 1962, then a daughter, Lori in 1963. The couple were married more than 40 years, until Karen’s death in 2005.

September 27, 1967, John reunited with his first, truest love – the farm he worked on during and just after high school. He purchased the land and continued to work at Tinker until the farm was paid off in 1973. Oilfield work consumed a lot of his time, as dragging junk out of tree lines to lay the pipe ended up being a near full time job.

In October 1974, during a thunderstorm, John would end up delivering the couple’s third child, Jonene, at the home on the farm he now proudly owned. He carried the newspaper clipping “Father Gives Stork A Hand” in his wallet from then on (which did at one point prove a certain new driver’s age to an amused officer).

In 1976 John joined the Mulhall-Orlando Lions Club. This group would be a mainstay of his life creating friendships and opportunities for giving to the community. Years of raffle sales, cutting firewood, selling oranges during the holidays, handing out candy after the elementary school program, and tracking down dollar coins and two dollar bills and blowing up balloons for the annual Halloween carnival within the community fueled his work with the Boys Ranch (which later became Lions Meadows of Hope) where he served on the board and as a farming consultant for over 20 years.

By the 1980s, the oil boom was dwindling, and he began farming full time. To help fill his “spare time,” he began working at elections in 401 Precinct. He would fulfill roles of both official, then inspector, before ending his tenure in 2020.

In the 1990s, he and Karen joined the Oklahoma Mineral and Gem Society. He learned how to cut and polish the various rocks that struck his interest. He made bolo ties, earrings, and several sought-after belt buckles featuring cut and polished agate and tiger eye. He also learned faceting, discovering that all sorts of glass could result in beautiful stones. He would serve as the president of the OMGS in Oklahoma City in both 2006 and 2007.

At one of the Lions Club events in the early 2000s, he listened to a presentation on a program called CASA – Court Appointed Special Advocate. Although he was nervous about speaking in front of people, he knew this advocacy was a calling for him. He would volunteer with CASA for 20 years, leading to close ties to the Stillwater community’s Wings of Hope and Payne County Youth Services, and making a difference in the lives of numerous children for whom he advocated.

As he slowed down in early 2026, he would reflect on his life. He said his life had been a series of coincidences; nothing was planned. He did meet his goal of owning five quarters of land by the time he was 50; he bought his fifth quarter May 14, 1988, on his 50th birthday. He said he had two claims to fame – delivering Jonene and the circulated photo of a steer standing on the roof of his house. If you’ve seen it, you can assure people that steer did, in fact, chase a cat onto the roof and was safely returned to the pasture later that day; it wasn’t Photoshopped and it was long before AI.

Simply knowing John would forge friendships, as he found friends as readily as he found items of need in his early work days, and was widely known. One story was relayed that in two different areas a young man gained help when it was discovered that he and the person helping him, both knew John. From then on when he was in trouble he would claim, “I have $20 to my name, I need help, and I know John Bode.”

Services will be held Friday, April 24, at 10:00 am at the Dighton-Marler Funeral Chapel, Stillwater. Interment will follow at Morris Heights. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Special Fund at the Orlando Lions Club or to Payne County CASA.