Johnny R. Mercer

Johnny R. Mercer (John) was born in Hillsboro, Texas, September 14, 1944 to Leslie Ralph Mercer and Doris Jean (Thurman) Mercer. He spent his early years in Hillsboro, but moved to Pullman, Washington, Ramstein Air Base in Germany and then to Midwest City as an Air Force brat.

He graduated from Midwest City High School in 1963 and went on to Central State University where he was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity and met many of his lifelong friends. It took him a while, but he finally graduated in 1974 with a Bachelor of Science Degree with a minor in music.

He enlisted in the Army National Guard in 1968 and served until 1975. While in the guard he attended the Medical Procedures Course at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio and learned to be a Biochemistry Technologist. He went on to work in the Microbiology lab at OU's University Hospital. While working at the hospital, he met Sandie (Avery), his wife of 46 years.

Another constant in his life was his love of music. He was an accomplished guitarist and spent many years in bands playing in Oklahoma City and surrounding states. In his younger years he played with the Sidewinders, Squatty & the Bot-Tys and Dewayne and the Beldettas. He also played in the Army Reserve Band. He then went on to do many Friday and Saturday band jobs with The Red Rice Orchestra and soloed when they played with the Philharmonic in 1975, the night after his first date with Sandie. She attended the performance and was duly impressed. In later years, John reunited with Dewayne and the Beldettas and with Squatty & the Bot-Tys and enjoyed playing at various venues in the city and surrounding areas. He loved the music and laughter he shared with all the guys in all the bands he participated in.

As he did with his music (20 guitars, various amps and a studio), John threw himself body and soul into various other hobbies and excelled at them all. He started with aquariums (nine, in a 1000 sq. ft. house) then photography (many cameras and a darkroom), fishing (boats, lake house and more tackle than any one human needs), woodworking with multiple saws both at home and at the lake, and his beloved Harley with many accessories. Amazingly, when asked where he got all this stuff, he would answer "I found it on the side of the road."

In addition to his music and various hobbies, he was a businessman and owned and operated Sunbelt Staffing in Oklahoma City. The company served countless people during the 40 years they were in business until they closed their doors in December of 2019.

John is survived by his loving wife, Sandie, his daughter and son-in-law, Jennifer and J.M. Ruttman, his son and daughter-in-law John Michael and Anna Mercer, grandchildren, Dylan, Cameron, Zosia and Ezra and his bonus grandchildren, Austin, Khloe and Brant.

John seldom met a man, woman, child or animal he didn't like and couldn't rename. Once you were christened with a nickname, you rarely heard your given name again, but it was his way of telling you that you were special to him. We will miss his love, his laughter and his gentle heart always.

Celebration of life services will be held at 11:00 A.M., Saturday, December 23, 2023 at the Yanda & Son Funeral Home Chapel, Yukon, OK.