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Ralph “Rufus” Kemp

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A Celebration of Life Memorial Service for Ralph “Rufus” Kemp, 70, of Lexington will be held Friday, October 8, 2021 at the  Wilson-Little Funeral Home Chapel. Services will be under the direction of the Wilson-Little Funeral Home in Purcell.

The service will be livestreamed on the website, www.wilsonlittle.com or the Facebook page, Wilson Little.

Mr. Kemp passed away Sunday, October 3, 2021.

Ralph Douglas Kemp was born October 26, 1950 in Purcell, Okla., the second of seven children of Bill and Imogene (Yeary) Kemp. He was raised in Purcell and attended Purcell schools, and completed his education at Mid-America Vo-Tech.

By chance, while car pooling with his sister-in-law, he met a young lady from Lexington. She was staying with her grandma at the time, and needed a ride to the DMV to get her license. They hit it off right away, and the rest as they say is history. They settled in Lexington where together they raised two daughters, Lisa and Buffy.

Ralph worked in Waste Management for the City of Norman as a truck driver, retiring after more than 30 years of service. When he wasn’t working, Ralph was probably out with Gloria riding his cycle, country dancing or tinkering on a car. He was Vice President of the Purcell CBer’s Club and one of the most recognizable with his handle, “Cookie Duster.”

Ralph looked forward to family camping trips, and never missed an opportunity to go fishing. He was a wonderful husband and father, Papa, brother, uncle and friend. He will be dearly missed!

He was preceded in death by his father, Bill Kemp Sr. (Vena); mother, Imogene Reynolds (Pard) and siblings, Phillip Kemp and Vanessa Larrimore.

Ralph is survived by his wife, Gloria, of the home;  daughters, Lisa Parker (Daniel) of Tioga, Texas, and Buffy Mowdy (Tony) of Lexington;  sisters, Lavonda Reynolds of Moore and Alice Reynolds of Oklahoma City; brothers, Bill Kemp of Lexington and Terry Reynolds (Doyle) of Oklahoma City; grandchildren, Spencer Parker (Brittani) of Eggland Air Force Base, Fla., Andrea Jones (Hunter) of Valley View, Texas, Cody Mowdy (Brittany) of Pass Christian, Miss., and Thad Mowdy (Kristen) of Juneau, Alaska; six great-grandchildren, Chris, Aubrey, Beau, Gwen, Saige, Talen and a few extras are Payton, Cammy and Samual and a host of other family and friends.

Online condolences may be made at wilsonlittle.com.