Alva Review-Courier -

My friend George says that the last goodbye is the hardest one to say and this is where the cowboy rides away.

Wes was born in a two-story farmhouse in Alva, Oklahoma, on March 4, 1941, to his parents, Louie Herbert Thurman and Ellen Hada Thurman. He often said that his birthday was special because it was the only day of the year that was used as a command to move forward.

He attended Greenleaf Country School and was the only person in his grade until his eighth-grade year. He attended high school "in town" and was very successful in FFA, showing animals and scholastics. He attended Oklahoma S...