Arden Dean Dykens

Arden “Ardie” Dean Dykens, 65, Altus, passed away Tuesday, May 11, 2010 at the Oklahoma Heart Hospital in Oklahoma City, OK. Memorial services will be held 10 a.m. Monday, May 17, 2010 at the First United Methodist Church with Rev. David Player officiating. Inurnment of the cremated remains with full military honors will follow services 1 p.m. at the Fort Sill National Cemetery, Elgin, Oklahoma. Services are under the direction of Kincannon Funeral Home. Arden was born May 6, 1945 in Smith Center, Kansas to Harold P. and Eva R. (Kern) Dykens. He graduated from Lebanon High School, Lebanon, Kansas in 1963. He served his country for over 32 years, first in the Kansas Army National Guard, then as a maintenance supervisor / shop chief of the Oklahoma National Guard Armory in Weatherford and then Altus from 1982 until his retirement in 2005 as a MSgt. He married Diane Langhofer Sellens July 26, 1975 in Russell, Kansas. He was a member of the Order of Saint Barbara and the First United Methodist Church in Altus. He enjoyed golf, fishing, RV-ing and spending time with his family and especially his grandchildren. His family says “he was born to be a grandfather.” He was preceded in death by his parents and his first wife Della Ruth Brokaw Dykens. He is survived by his wife Diane of Altus, OK; four sons, Timothy Dykens and wife Terri of Yukon, OK; Michael Dykens and wife Kerri of Altus, OK; Kenny Sellens and wife Kirsten of Lawton, OK; Craig Sellens and wife Michelle of Wichita, KS; two brothers, James Louis “Jim” Dykens and wife Margaret of Norton, KS; Elton Dale Dykens of Camdenton, MO; twelve grandchildren, Alexandra and Cassandra Dykens, Kendra Dickerson Waters and her husband Nick, Kaitlyn, Kaleb and Karissa Dykens, Laramie Allen, Cameron Sellens, Jonathan Lehman, Courtney and Lauryn Sellens; a great granddaughter, Oakley Waters, and many other family, friends and work associates.