Donald Lee Linn
Donald Lee Linn
Donald Lee Linn was flown away on the wings of angels on Sept. 26, 2022 at 3:16 p.m. after a long battle with many health issues including Vascular Dementia. He finally knew what it was like to “Fly Away” to heaven, as the song stated that he loved to play over and over.
Donald Lee Spradlin was born in Hugo, Okla., on March 16, 1950. After his parents Hetty Lorne Taylor Spradlin and Robert Lee Spradlin, Jr. divorced, his mother remarried and he was adopted by Dennis Linn.
Don graduated in 1968 from Hugo High School. While there, he worked at Fry’s Creosote Plant as a welder and mechanic. Upon graduation he joined the OK Army National Guard, where he was an expert marksman and machine gunner, the duty he loved the most. He worked at Campbell’s Soup in Paris, Texas, for three years while working part-time on days off at the OTASCO store his parents owned.
He married Barbara Ann Priddy of Ft. Worth, Texas, in Hugo on April 1, 1972. She encouraged him to return to go to OSUTECH, in Okmulgee to take Diesel Mechanics, while there he was on the Dean’s Honor Roll. He was hired out of school to go to United Transport (UT) in Kansas City as a mechanic in 1974. From there he was promoted to Shop Foreman and transferred to Arlington, Texas. They transferred to OKC in 1979 when the GM plant opened. He was promoted to Shop Superintendent over equipment, shop personnel and testing of drivers. Eventually UT was sold out to Jack Cooper Auto Transport (JCT) where he would finish his career in Shreveport, La.
Throughout his life he set up swap meets, antiques malls and flea markets on the weekends. He was the original “American Picker” before TV made it cool, always buying, selling and collecting antiques. He had a gift for restoring old items, toys, dolls (yes, he and Savannah were in the Barbie Collections Club of OKC), also guns, furniture, etc. He always loved working on anything mechanical, cars, trucks, motorcycles (he owned over 38 bikes in his lifetime), clocks, and even watches, his favorite being Rolex. He was a member of the National Association of Watch Clocks. He especially loved restoring old neon clocks and advertising items. The friends collected over the years were what he prized the most.
Don always had a love affair with motorcycles. Restoring a 1947 Indian that he got in three boxes was one of his greatest mechanical accomplishments. His greatest joy was the arrival of daughter Savannah in 1987. When she was old enough to ride, he bought a double sidecar, so the three of them could go together. She loved riding on the back of his ’93 Harley Softail Cowglide. Two of his favorite trips were going cross country to Pike’s Peak and then of course to Sturgis in South Dakota. He was an all-weather, even in the snow. It was with great sadness when he had to give up riding.
They moved to Durant, Okla., to help take care of his mother at the end of her life. That is where he was diagnosed with Vascular Dementia in 2018. They returned to OKC to be closer to their daughter. He was blessed to be able to walk her down the aisle on her wedding day.
Don is survived by his wife of 50 years, Barbara Ann Linn; his daughter, Savannah Olivia Linn; son-in-law, Jared Williams; halfsisters: Gladys Rupe, Patty Swink (Jim), Julia Drake (John); step-brother, Dennis (Danny) Linn (Denise), as well as many extended family members and friends.
