Lyndel Bernard Shaw

There once was a man with laughing blue eyes who began many of his stories - and he had a bunch of stories- with a right tilted grin and a chuckle derived from a genuine love of life and its people.

Lyndel (Hooty) Bernard Shaw, a lifelong resident of Blair, Oklahoma, passed from this life surrounded by family on the evening of December 13, 2025.

Hooty was born in Blair, Oklahoma, on June 1, 1942, to Leonard and Velma Lee Shaw. Before his birth, his sister, Teta, nicknamed him Hooty after the character from Bob Hope’s radioshow, “Yehudi, the little man who wasn’t there.” The nickname stuck, and he was known as Hooty for the remainder of his life.

Hooty was athletic and played both baseball and basketball while attending Blair High School. On a team bus trip to Ron, Oklahoma, Hooty had to ask for directions. He knocked on the door of a home located east of Hollis not knowing the 15-year-old girl who answered that knock would move to Blair the next year and become his bride within two. Hooty married his wife of 62 years, Fran Byrd, on April 16, 1963. To this marriage were born two sons, Lyle and Lee.

A man of multiple talents and hobbies, Hooty was personally and professionally known for his generosity and kindness no matter what he was doing. Many community members remember him from his first career at Trans America Financial. Hooty left Trans America in the early eighties. He later worked for a rancher near Reydon, Oklahoma, before opening Blair Tire in 1989. He operated and ran the business until he retired in 2004, leaving Blair Tire to his family. Hooty spent much of his retirement hunting, breeding, and training hounds.

If you sat with Hooty for very long, you heard at least one hunting tale and more than likely a story or two about his “Daddy.” His father instilled in Hooty a love and skill for hunting which he developed throughout his lifetime. Renowned for his ability to start and train dogs, Hooty was a legend among hound hunters across the United States.

The gathering of family and friends was important to Hooty. He and Fran spent many weekends preparing and hosting meals at the family farm or their home in Blair where everyone was welcome to a plate and a laugh. On the afternoon of his passing, Hooty and Fran’s front yard was full of people celebrating his life in true Hooty fashion with a community fish fry.

Hooty was preceded in death by his grandson, Hayden Lee Shaw; his parents, Leonard and Velma Lee Shaw; his father and mother-in-law, Roy and Ruby Dell Byrd; one brother, Jerry Shaw; one sister, Teta Osborne; one sister-in-law, Vicky Shaw; and two brothers-in law, Terry and Tommy Byrd.

Hooty is survived by his wife, Fran; two sons, Lyle and wife, Mandy of Blair and Lee and wife, Denise of Blair; his brother, Larry Shaw and partner, Karen of Blair; seven grandchildren, Kendra Downen and husband, Jerry, Cheston and wife, Nichole, Kendalyn and partner, Tristan Richard, Garrett and partner, Kaide Hines, Harley, Jasper, and Karleigh; seven great-grandchildren, Jaycee, Karlee, Kason, Cooper, Bodie, Beck, Grayson, one great-granddaughter on the way; and countless extended family members and friends.

Services will be held at 2:00 PM on Thursday, December 18, 2025, in the Kincannon Memorial Chapel. Burial will immediately follow at the Blair Cemetery. A parking lot attendant will be available to assist with traffic flow. Guests attending the cemetery are kindly asked to line up for the funeral procession under the direction of the attendant. Additional parking is available at Western Sizzlin, north of the funeral home.

The service livestream may be viewed at https://view.oneroomstreaming.com/index.php?data=MTc2NTkyMDk3NTM5MzI0MSZvbmVyb29tLWFkbWluJmNvcHlfbGluaw==. Online memorial tributes and expressions of sympathy may be left for the family at www.kincannonfuneralhome.com.