Johnny Oscar Pulliam

Johnny Oscar Pulliam passed away on Sunday, July 12, 2026. He was born on March 15, 1944, in Marysville, California, to JO and Arlis Pulliam, who were there while JO answered the nation's call to support the World War II effort as a civilian tank mechanic. We trust you'll forgive him for being born a Californian—they got back to Texas as soon as they could. Johnny was one of eight siblings from a few blended families and spent the better part of his life in Stratford.

After JO completed his civil service duties as a tank mechanic, they returned to Texas, with Johnny living at times in Dalhart, Dumas, Amarillo, Stratford, and for a time, Gila Bend, Arizona.

Johnny was 18 and Karen was 15 when they met while attending Stratford High School. After dating for a time, they secretly ran off to Clayton, New Mexico, where they promptly wrote a hot check for their marriage license and added a little white lie about Karen's age for good measure.

Moving to Dalhart, Johnny became a mechanic and Karen a carhop, and two days shy of a year later they started their family with their firstborn son, Ronald Dean "BR" or “Bee”. Moving back to Stratford, they completed their family by adding little Johnny Wayne "JockO" two years later.

Moving to Stratford, Johnny started working for Elk Service and Equipment alongside his dad JO, a lifelong mechanic himself. This, however, would come to include “sabbaticals” to work at parts houses in Stratford and Texhoma before returning to Elk Service, where he remained until retiring following the sale of the Shop in 2011.

For those fortunate enough to witness it, watching Johnny and JO work together over the years was entertainment in itself. It wasn't uncommon to hear one of them exclaim, "Here, give me that wrench!" after deciding the other was taking just a little too long.

JO was also known to think, often out loud, mind you, about how much more work they could get done if Johnny spent less time at the coffee shop—or playing Wolfenstein on the office computer. Later on, when someone asked JO why he didn't retire, his response was immediate: "Who would take care of Johnny?"

The two shared a bond built on equal parts hard work (well, mostly), patience, teasing, and love. To watch them together was truly priceless.

Johnny's lifelong passions were music and cars. He began playing rhythm guitar as a young man and spent much of his life performing with one band or another. Years later, BR's college roommate, Chet, jokingly suggested renaming the band "Johnny P and the Out of Tuners." The proposal was ceremoniously—and unanimously—rejected by the rest of the band.

Johnny also had a lifelong love of automobiles. He was known for owning more than a few cool cars and even knew what it was like to run one on drip gas.

In the early 1970s, Johnny became involved with the Volunteer Fire Department and rose to the rank of Fire Marshal in the 1980s. He also served the county as a Constable for Precinct 3. Johnny often reminded anyone willing to listen that, as Constable, he held the one office that could arrest the Sheriff.

Both Johnny and Karen were devoted Stratford Elk fans, especially while their son BR played football and ran track. Their enthusiastic support earned them the "Fans of the Year" award at the 1980–81 Athletics banquet—an honor well deserved, as Johnny never missed one of BR's football games or track meets.

Johnny also loved camping and taking his Jeep out for drives around the county with his faithful canine sidekick Jeeper riding shotgun. Whether at home or out on the patio, he enjoyed games of chess, gin rummy, and dominoes. On weekend trips to meet up with BR, the games usually became gin rummy and dominoes because BR was hopeless at chess—a fact that Johnny never quite managed to understand, being his son and all.

Johnny is survived by his son Ronald Dean "BR" Pulliam and wife Eileen of Panhandle; son Johnny Wayne "JockO" Pulliam of Stratford; sister Vickie Gentry of Bandera; sister Lisa Warner of Thomasboro, Illinois; brother Greg Simpson and wife Marilyn of Houston; stepbrother Tommy Asher and wife Becky of Stratford as well as four grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.

Johnny was preceded in death by his wife Karen; his father JO Pulliam and wife Anne; mother Arlis Simpson and husband Audrey of Amarillo; stepmother Katie Fields of Hutchinson, Minnesota; grandmother Pearl Knudsen of Dalhart; sister Jackie Tiner and husband Jim of Whitesboro; sister Renee Fisk of Bandera; brother-in-law Sonny Gentry of Bandera; stepbrother Mike Asher and wife Beverly of Griggs, Oklahoma; and Sam Asher of Kerrick.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, July 24, at 11:00 a.m., at First Christian Church, 420 N. Main Street, Stratford, Texas. Donations can be made in celebration of Johnny's life to Heritage Baptist Church of Stratford or to Coldwater Manor Nursing Home of Stratford. Arrangements are by Boxwell Brothers at Stratford.

If you knew Johnny, chances are you have a story worth telling—and he would have liked it that way.