Wesley Lloyd Sufficool, Sr. was born in Walla Walla, Washington on August 26, 1938, to Vance E. Sufficool and Augusta E. Sufficool. Wesley passed away on February 20, 2024, in Tulsa, OK after an extended illness.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Neta Garside (sister), Evert Sufficool (brother), Levi Dixon (grandson), and Jason Hughes (honorary grandson).

He leaves behind three children and their spouses: Wesley L. Sufficool, Jr. and Tessa of Rapid City, SD; Debi Sufficool Dixon and Jeffrey of Edmond, OK; and Donna Sufficool Arciniega and Drew of Las Vegas, NV. He is also survived by a grandson (who he had a hand in raising) Ryan Baker, Ryan’s spouse Nora, and their daughters Sloane and Finley; Ina Lee (sister) of Sweet Home, OR; long-time companion Betty Sufficool, and numerous grandchildren.

Wes was raised in southern California where he seemed to make it his mission to get kicked out of every Seventh Day Adventist Academy in the state. He enjoyed fighting and pushing the rules. He managed to get kicked out a couple months shy of graduation, so he never finished high school. That didn’t diminish his work ethic, which always allowed him to provide for himself, his family, and others that were in need. While he may have had a rough and gruff attitude and did enjoy a good fight, he always had a soft heart. He believed it was his duty to take care of people that were less fortunate than he was, and he took that very seriously. We will never know the full extent of his generosity and everything he did to help others. When asked, he would characterize this with “Well I guess they needed it more than I did”.

After moving from California in the early 1960’s, Wes acquired property in the Ketchum area and started raising cattle and crops but still found he needed a steady paycheck. He was never afraid of hard work and started painting in the Vinita area. He ended up becoming an industrial painter when he went to work for John Byrd and continued working for John’s companies throughout his painting career. Wes and his crew would travel throughout the region trouble shooting for the company. They were frequently sent to jobs that were challenging, or as Wes put it, “where someone else had already f*&%d things up”. He was highly respected in his profession. He retired from Specialized Industrial Services. During those years as a painter, he spent lots of time on the road and developed close relationships with many on his painting crew. Special friendships were formed through those years with Dean and Debra Hughes and Cy and Cathy Austin. The people on his crew were extended family, and he remained close with many of them until his death. Also, after Wes’s retirement, Ryan came to live with him. He and Ryan were bachelors together and formed a special bond during that time.

While Wes was on the road, the farm had to be cared for, so he taught his children what needed to be done. As the oldest, Wes Jr. was responsible for taking care of the cows with Donna tagging along. As the two of them remember it, Debi spent more time reading than helping. When Wes Jr. was a freshman in high school, he began traveling with Wes on the painting crew. This meant the cattle were sold and a completely different educational experience began for Wes Jr.

After retirement he began to build his herd back and enjoyed many years of caring for his cattle and land. He always loved working his property, keeping it in tip top shape, spraying weeds, baling hay and bulldozing to clear trees. The bulldozer may not have been his best idea. Just getting it delivered caused a lot of drama since he had his first stroke while waiting for it to be delivered. He refused to go to the hospital until the bulldozer arrived and even threatened Betty that if she called an ambulance, he would just go out and hide from them somewhere in the pasture. Debi finally convinced him to go to the hospital, but he wasn’t happy about it! He never really was good with that bulldozer. He even ran over his four-wheeler with it and had to walk all the way back to the house from the back pasture. Wes finally had to hire someone to help with the farm, and it bothered him that he couldn’t be out with his cattle. Even while in the hospital, he looked forward to getting back out to the pastures on his four-wheeler to check his cattle. Besides the cattle and other animals (the Emus!) that Wes raised, he loved his dogs and had several special ones throughout his life. He treated them like family, letting them sleep with him and sharing food from his plate with them.

In the last few years, Wes had decided to restore a 1940 Chevy Special Deluxe and a 1978 Ford F-150. These two projects may have cost him a little more than they should have. In his desire to save a dime here and there, he ended up spending more than he might have had to. He was able to take the F-150 for a spin shortly before his last hospitalization.

Wes led a full and productive life filled with many friends, projects, and hard work. At the end, his greatest pride was that he had raised his children to be strong and self-sufficient because of the work ethic he instilled in them. As a good friend put it, “There is, was and will only ever be one Wes.”

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you do a random act of kindness for someone less fortunate or give to a charity of your choice in honor of Wes.

Visitation will be 6-8 PM Friday, March 1, 2024, in the Burckhalter-Highsmith Funeral Home Chapel. Services will be Saturday, March 2, 2024, at 2:00 PM at the Otterbein Country Church with Pastor Justin Tuner officiating. Interment to follow at Military Cemetery. Condolences may be left on the Burckhalter-Highsmith Funeral Home website or on our funeral home Facebook page. Arrangements are in the personal care of Burckhalter-Highsmith Funeral & Cremation Services.