Posted on 03/27/2012 9:16:48 PM PDT by Arthurio
Home invasion, killing ended a 65-year romance for Tulsa couple
BY JERRY WOFFORD World Staff Writer Tuesday, March 20, 2012 3/20/2012 8:37:39 AM
They met on a blind date on Thanksgiving 1946, and within a month, Bob and Nancy Strait were married.
For 65 years, the couple lived a happy life in Tulsa, raising their children and sharing their kindness with their family and everyone they met.
"In the evenings, that's what we did: sit on the porch and pick guitar and sing," said Lanora, one of their daughters.
Last week, that long marriage and happy family were torn apart by an apparent home invasion that left both Bob, 90, and Nancy Strait, 85, severely beaten. Nancy Strait died from her injuries. Bob Strait survived with a broken jaw and ribs and severe bleeding. Lanora said he could be released from the hospital sometime this week.
Police arrested Tyrone Dale David Woodfork, 20, last week in connection with the assault and killing, as well as on two robbery complaints. Formal charges are still pending but could come later this week.
The attack left Lanora, her sister, Andra, and their family shaken and scared, so much so that they asked that their last names not be published.
But now they want their father to be honored and their mother to be remembered for the loving and caring parents they were.
Bob and Nancy Strait grew up poor in rural Oklahoma and learned to make the most of whatever they had and still help others who needed it. Nancy Strait grew up in a log cabin in eastern Oklahoma.
"When it would snow outside, it would snow inside too," Lanora said.
Bob Strait was in the 101st Airborne Division in World War II, an experience that shaped him and his character but one he didn't often talk about.
That was his general demeanor, though, Lanora said.
"Dad never talked, and Mama never quit talking," she said.
The couple had six children who gave them 18 grandkids and about 50 great- and great-great grandkids, Andra said. A great-great-great grandchild was recently born, she said.
Nancy Strait's Depression-era upbringing shaped much of her life. Despite being nearly blind, she loved to quilt and bake.
"Whatever she did, it came from the heart," Andra said.
Bob Strait spent time woodworking, making cabinets and toys. He also was handy at mechanics.
Before he retired, he worked with the oil derrick supply company Lee C. Moore in Tulsa. He was on the crew that built the derrick that Tulsa's iconic Golden Driller now rests on.
"He was proud of that," Lanora said. "Every time we would drive by it, he would tell us about it."
They were both generous and respectful people who would go out of their way to help anyone who needed it, their daughters said.
"We just assumed the world grew up like this," Andra said about the values their parents taught her and her siblings.
They had been strong people. Both had been sick with food poisoning the week before the attack and were frail, but Bob and Nancy Strait had made it through hard times.
Andra said her father had been suffering from kidney problems but had outlived the doctor's prognosis.
"He was living because Mother was alive," Andra said.
Now that she has died, they worry about their father - not only his physical recovery but how his wife's death will affect him.
"There is no one else who has been through what he's been through who is still alive," Lanora said. "We pray he doesn't remember."
According to police reports, a witness spotted the Straits' stolen car on Thursday afternoon and alerted the police. Officers stopped the car and took several people into custody. All but Woodfork were released.
"We can't say thank you enough to that gentleman" who spotted the vehicle, Lanora said.
Woodfork is being held without bail in the Tulsa Jail.
Police believe that others were involved in the robbery and assaults, and investigators are following several leads, Officer Jason Willingham said. It does not appear that the attackers knew the Straits, he said.
A memorial service for Nancy Strait is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Friday at Floral Haven Funeral Home Chapel of Broken Arrow.
There are no right words...
Obama’s Son?
Has anyone heard what happened to Allen Goin?
Has anyone heard what happened to Hoang Nguyen?
Has anyone heard what Treven Lewis did?
Has anyone heard what Shawn Tyson did?
Crickets are heard throughout the media..not even Fox News has reported this story. Guess its OK to kill elderly people, as long as the killer is black. Waiting for members of Congress to hold a moment of silence for this senseless loss
Would this have had happened if a George Zimmerman had been on neighborhood watch in this community?
Disgusting. That young man or maybe he is a child should be executed by firing squad
The MSM is very silent about blacks killing whites.
Agree with you generally, but this is not a young man—he is a young coward. There is nothing manly about this type of scum.
Shooting BBs. 10,000 BBs.
When did Obama call the relatives?
Has he called his “son” yet.
the likes of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton created that monster!
That fugly SOB looks more like Obama daughter #3. Pure evil incarnate. I pray for swift justice.
Tyrone + trial + rope = justice.
Another citizen who “looks like” our racist president.
Another citizen who “looks like” our racist president.
Home Invasions are becoming very popular among thieves. And closer to home for us. We just had one a mile away from us, in a very nice neighborhood. The reason for the sudden rash, is while you are away you have the alarm turned on, and at best they have 10 or 15 minutes to grab what they want. They break in while you are home and the alarm is turned off. All they have to do is incapacitate you and they have all the time in the world.
With the way his hair is shocked out, it looks like someone has already had his way with the kid.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.