Obituary of Leslie Dale Riker

Leslie Dale Riker was born to Janis and Ray Riker in Tulsa, Oklahoma on February, 17 1956. He grew up in Tulsa and Owasso, with his parents and his joyfully devoted brother, Gary Riker. The brothers each had their own horse, and they frequently “drag-raced” against their friend’s Ford Falcon down their dirt road. He was well-loved in school. In high school, he played football, ran track and field, wrestled, and was voted most intelligent classmate. If he ever found himself in trouble in high school, it was only because the wrong person found himself at the butt of a great joke, such as dropping some change in the coffee cup of an unsuspecting teacher, whom Les always thought looked like a beggar as he walked down the hallway. He was involved in the youth group at First Christian Church where, when he was 18 years old, a 15-year-old girl named Sheila Miller laid eyes on him singing in the choir. They became friends and soon fell in love when they found themselves sitting snuggly next to each other in the rear-facing back row of a station wagon on the way home from a church trip to Bell’s Amusement Park. They were married on June 4, 1977. Les had a special tone of voice and facial expression reserved only for talking about his Sheila. Les spiritual gift was his unrelenting sense of humor and he had a natural talent for lovingly teasing those dear to him. On occasion he enjoyed playing Short People, by Randy Newman, for his petite wife and mother in law. At the end of his life, when he needed his family to swat pestering flies on his arm or legs, he jokingly berated us for missing because we were afraid swat him hard enough. He was a talented builder and creative home designer, and took advantage of every rare opportunity to install a bookcase that opened to a secret room. His career eventually led him to caring for God’s planet through home energy testing. Les always insisted that every interaction with the world, business or social, was an opportunity to share the love and example of Jesus Christ. Les’s professional advice to his son, Wade, was to always be righteous, be kind, and smile. Les could often be found in his workshop building things for his children and grandson. Les was an intensely loving and involved husband, “Daddy,” “Gramps” and “Uncle Les”. He never missed a ballgame or a cross country or track meet. He had immediate follow-through on every grand idea for doting on his little ones. In the last week of his life, Les made his grandson’s wildest dream come true and ordered a child-sized Jeep for him to drive around the pasture. If any of Les’s loved ones ever have an impulse to offer another grace, love, or kindness, they learned it from him. Les is survived by his wife, Sheila Riker, his 3 children, Morgan Riker, Shelby Williams, and Wade Riker, son-in-law, Stephen Williams, grandson, Oliver Williams, brother, Gary Riker, sister-in-law, Pam Riker, and nieces, Kara Jordan and Angela Emmert, father in-law, Charles Miller, his sister in-laws, Leslie Wilson, Marguerite McKinney, Carolbeth Hyde, brother in-law Eric Miller, nephews, Sam McKinney, Charles Pickens, Kyle McAllister, and Dmitry Wilson, and nieces Alicia Self, Sarah Wilson, Victoria Wilson, and Haley Wilson. A memorial service will be held for Les on Wednesday, July 1, at 1pm at Bethel Baptist Church in Owassso, OK. Face covering and social distancing will be practiced. If you don’t bring a mask, one will be provided. This is a way to care for each other that Les felt strongly about. A lifelong fan of Westerns, the story of Wyatt Earp, Doc Holiday, and Tombstone was a favorite of Les’s. He got to visit the town of Tombstone a couple of years ago and discovered the grave of a man named Les that said, “No Les No More.” Thrilled, in full Les fashion, he said, “This is what I want on my gravestone.”