JOHN WESLEY "SONNY" ABNEY 
(OCTOBER 1, 1933 - MARCH 24, 1959)  

 JOHN WESLEY "SONNY" ABNEY, was born October 1, 1933 at Maxwell, Oklahoma.  He served six years in the U.S. Air Force and was in the National Guard at the time of his death.  On March 13, 1959, Sonny and Dan Snellgroos were en route to a job in western Oklahoma.  As they were leaving, they stopped at Ruth and John Spurlock's store in Lindsay for groceries.  Just hours after leaving there, they were involved in a traffic accident.  According to the newspaper account, Dan, who was a passenger in the car and was pronounced dead at the scene.  They took Sonny to the hospital in Shattuck.  On March 24, because of his condition, they decided to transfer him to the VA hospital in Oklahoma City, but Sonny died en route.  Sonny's services were held in the Stratford High School gym in Stratford, Oklahoma under the direction of W.E. Winan's  Funeral Home in Maysville, Oklahoma.  He is buried in the Abney Cemetery.