Funeral Services for Allyn Gene Warkentin, 86, of McLoud, Oklahoma, formerly of Fairview, will be 2:00 p.m., Friday. May 17, 2024 at the Saron Mennonite Church in Orienta, Oklahoma.  The Reverend Arnold Curby will officiate.  Burial will follow in the South Mennonite Brethren Cemetery.  Arrangements are by Fairview Funeral Home, Inc.

Visitation will be on Friday, May 17, 2024 from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the funeral home prior to the funeral.

Allyn Gene Warkentin was born September 14, 1937 in Okeene, Oklahoma, to Simon and Dorothy (Gaede) Warkentin.  He passed away unexpectedly on May 10, 2024 in Shawnee, Oklahoma.

Allyn grew up on the family farm east of Fairview and graduated from Fairview High School in 1955. He attended Oklahoma State University and graduated in 1960 with a mechanical engineering degree.  Immediately after graduation he started working at Tinker Air Force Base and retired after 32 years in the Aeronautical branch supporting the KC-135 program. After retirement from Tinker, he worked for Northrop Grumman as a contract software testing engineer for another 18 years.

While working at Tinker, Allyn met Donna Kay McCracken through a mutual friend, and she immediately decided that he was "hers".  After getting married in 1967 and living in Midwest City for a brief period, they purchased farmland south of McLoud, Oklahoma.  While living in a mobile home on the property, Chad was born in 1970 and Kent was born in 1972.  Allyn designed the house that they built together and completed by 1975 and still live in today.

The farm grew to 210 acres where the family raised cattle and hay.  Much of the equipment used in the farming operations was designed and fabricated by Allyn himself.  Whatever he could dream up, he also had the skills to build.  Besides working the farm, Allyn and the boys began restoring Pontiac GTOs in the mid-1980s.  Allyn was a lifelong Pontiac fan and purchased one of the first 1964 GTOs built.  He owned and/or restored a total of eleven GTOs throughout his life.  He was an avid drag racer starting in the early 1960s and raced his last race at the age of 75.  The car that he built and raced during the mid-1960s was a 1962 Oldsmobile F-85 that the family still owns today.  In 1967, he set AHRA world records in two classes racing the F-85.

Allyn was one of the oldest and longest participating members of the Shawnee Tractor and Engine Club.  He started driving tractors at the age of 6 on a WC Allis Chalmers that he modified and operated for 80 years until his death.  He collected and restored many tractors throughout his life. His favorites were small John Deere and Allis Chalmers industrial tractors, an Allis WF he restored for Donna, and his last restoration, a 311 Case.

He is survived by Donna, his wife of 57 years; sister Phyllis Warkentin; sons Chad (Annette) and Kent (Jami); six grandchildren, George (Brittany), Garth, Simon (Alyson), Kaylee, Trey, and Hallye; five great-grandchildren, Aidan, Makiyah, Georgia, Stella, and Isabella; and numerous cousins and extended family members.

He was preceded in death by his parents; sister JoEtta Ediger and her husband, Walt; and great-grandson Raiden Warkentin.