Phillip Kaulaity

Phillip Kaulaity (Kway-Loh) was born on September 26, 1946, in Carnegie, OK and passed away on December 2, 2025.  He was born to Louis Earl and Ruth Kokoom Kaulaity and grew up in Lawton, OK, but he spent a majority of his childhood in the country at Saddle Mtn with his grandparents Walter and Alice Chanate Kokoom, where he and his older brother Walter spent many a day climbing all the mountains around the Saddle Mtn area and hunting and fishing at the creek.  Even in his youth he loved to work and sold doughnuts door-to-door when he was eight and also threw paper routes from the age of 12-15.   He graduated from Lawton Eisenhower in 1964 and later attended Cameron University for a while until he was drafted into the Army in 1965.  He was in artillery Officer Candidate School when he got deployed to Vietnam where he served 1 year.  He was an S2 with the 1st Cavalry in An-khe, and later as a G2 in Chu Lai with the Americal Division, where he was later Honorably Discharged after serving his time in the Vietnam War.

After the war, Phillip worked for a short time at Mathis Brothers as a delivery driver, and then he began his career working for the US Government.  His career started at the Indian Hospital in Lawton, and he later began working at the Indian Clinic in Shawnee.  Phillip met the love of his life, Sharon Thomas, while both working for Indian Health Service and they married in 1977 and resided in Yukon, OK, and they were married for 48 years.  He also worked at the IHS office in Ada and later worked for the IHS area office in Oklahoma City.  Phillip worked as a US Government employee with Indian Health Service for 34 years, and retired as a Property and Supply Management Officer in Rockville, MD.

Outside of work, Phillip loved watching and coaching basketball and coached for many years in boys' and girls' basketball, eventually winning a league championship with one of his boys' teams.  He loved watching his players get better, and some of his former players ended up being starters for the Yukon High School varsity team.  He was also an avid OU fan, and this included basketball and football, and was a season ticket holder and spent many a day in Norman watching his Sooners.  He and his wife also traveled extensively to many an away football games, and they traveled from California to Florida to watch the Sooners.

Phillip enjoyed fishing and working on cars and did both whenever he could.  He was also a member of Kiowa Black Leggings Warrior Society (Ton-ko-gah) and the Kiowa gourd clan and also loved to sing around the big drum and straight danced.  He was also a member of the Native American Church and loved hearing Kiowa NAC songs and sitting in a meeting with his relatives.  Phillip was a full-blood Kiowa and grew up around Kiowa ways and the language.  He loved to hear the Kiowa language and also loved the songs and history of his people.

Phillip loved being with his children and grandchildren, and would always help out his family, and loved to make his loved ones happy.  He enjoyed laughing and joking and seemed to always make new friends wherever he would go.  His final words of advice are "go and be the best you can be.  Lead with a passion for success and Godspeed".  Phillip will be greatly missed by all his friends and relatives, and those lives that he influenced.

Phillip was preceded in death by his parents, Louis Earl Kaulaity and Ruth Kokoom Kaulaity; brothers, Louis Earl Kaulaity, Jr., Randy King, and Walter Kaulaity; sister, Sandra Kaulaity; maternal grandparents, Walter Kokoom and Alice Chanate Kokoom; and paternal grandparents, Henry Kaulaity and Mary Togamote Kaulaity.

Phillip is survived by his wife, Sharon Thomas Kaulaity, Yukon, OK; daughter, Lori Ann Kaulaity, Lawton, OK and children, Katie Ann, Cody, and Phillip; son, Phillip Allen Kaulaity, Lawton, OK; daughter, Erica Kaulaity Martens and husband Clint, Yukon, OK, and children, Sophia and Graham; son, Mark Kaulaity and wife Melissa, Yukon, OK, and children, Quienton, Carmen, Aaron, and Keira.

Phillip is also survived by brothers Henry Joe Kaulaity, Moore, OK; Anthony (Tony) Kaulaity and wife Lynette, Norman, OK; sisters, Mary Kaulaity Bohay, Lawton, OK; Imogene Kaulaity Bohay, OKC, OK; Ioleta Kaulaity Carubelli, OKC, OK.

Viewing will be held from 1:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., Friday, December 5, 2025 at the funeral home.

Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, December 6, at the Yanda & Son Funeral Home Chapel, with interment following at the Yukon Cemetery.