Alfred Wendell McConathy

Alfred McConathy, 84, passed away on September 9, 2026. A man of faith, family, and a wonderfully mischievous sense of humor, Alfred loved a good story, a good horse, a good football game, and, most of all, the people who made his life so full. A devoted husband, father, Papa, son, brother, uncle, and friend that gave his family a lifetime of love and enough stories to keep them laughing for generations. He loved having an audience and was often guilty of pulling pranks.

Alfred was born on June 9, 1942, in McAlester, Oklahoma, to Wendell and Chloteal McConathy. He grew up with his older sister, Maggie Testa, and developed an early love for the outdoors. As a boy, there was nowhere he would rather be than alongside his dad on their land in Tannehill, hunting, fishing, helping in the garden, and exploring. He also worked in the family poultry business, doing whatever needed to be done, especially delivering chicken throughout the area.

After graduating from McAlester High School, Alfred attended college in Tishomingo, Oklahoma, and then spent a year at Oklahoma State University. A cowboy at heart, he loved racing horses and riding bareback broncs in the rodeo. His affection for horses was more than a passing interest: for a time in Stillwater, his horse actually lived inside his house! Most people had house pets. Alfred simply had bigger ideas. He was always thinking outside the box.

On November 22, 1967, Alfred married Peggy Cosgrove, the love of his life and, occasionally, the unsuspecting subject of his practical jokes. Together, they built a family that meant more to him than anything in the world. Their daughter, Wendi, was born in 1970, shortly before the family moved to Frederick, Oklahoma. Their son, Billy Ray, followed in 1972.

Alfred joined the Oklahoma Highway Patrol in 1970 and served in law enforcement for 28 years. He spent the first five years of his patrol career stationed in Frederick, although McAlester was home for most of his life. After leaving the patrol, he spent another 13 years administering driver’s license examinations before finally retiring for good.

Of course, no account of Alfred’s career or his sense of humor would be complete without the story of Peggy’s driver’s license test.

When Alfred discovered that Peggy had originally received her license without taking a driving test, he saw an opportunity he apparently could not resist. He had an official-looking letter from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol mailed to her explaining that a review of the records had uncovered the oversight and that she would need to report for a test. Peggy studied. She practiced. And Alfred, fully committed to the prank, arranged for a fellow patrolman to actually give her the driving test.

Afterward, Peggy was asked to wait in a room for her results. Instead, she received another letter revealing that the entire thing had been a joke played on her by her loving husband.

The driving test was over. Alfred’s trouble was just beginning.

It was a practical joke for the family history books and one that took Alfred quite some time to live down.

Alfred enjoyed playing golf, drinking coffee with his buddies, and settling in for a good Western especially one starring John Wayne. He loved reminiscing about his younger days, racing horses, rodeoing, and the adventures that made for such good stories later. And while his education had taken him to Oklahoma State, his football loyalties belonged firmly to the Sooners. He held season tickets for more than 25 years. A year in Stillwater was one thing; choosing a football team was another matter entirely.

As much as Alfred enjoyed his hobbies, what mattered most was sharing them with the people he loved. He loved watching his son, Billy Ray, play football for the McAlester Buffalos, and he treasured their time together hunting and traveling to Las Vegas for the PBR. Those shared experiences gave them plenty of memories and stories of their own.

Alfred loved his daughter-in-law, Nikki, and was so happy that Billy Ray had found his match in her. In recent years, as Alfred and Peggy grew older, Billy Ray and Nikki helped care for them with love and dedication. Alfred was deeply grateful for their support and for the comfort of knowing they could count on them. Their care meant the world to him.

Alfred was proud of Wendi’s independence and the woman she had become. He also thought she had made an excellent choice in her husband, Mike Vaughn. Alfred and Mike enjoyed playing golf and watching football together, and in Alfred’s eyes, Mike could do no wrong. He believed Mike was the perfect match for his daughter and was genuinely happy to have him in the family not just as a son-in-law, but as someone he loved and enjoyed spending time with.

One of Alfred’s greatest gifts to Wendi and Billy Ray was the example he set in his marriage. He taught his children how to love by the way he loved their mother. Through his devotion to Peggy, they learned what it meant to stand beside someone, care for them, share laughter, and build a life together. They never had to wonder what love looked like. They grew up watching it.

Alfred shared a lifetime of memories and laughter with his sister, Maggie Testa. Six years his senior, Maggie happily embraced her role as big sister—especially when it meant dressing him up and making him dance. Long before Alfred was dreaming up practical jokes of his own, he was apparently providing entertainment at his sister’s direction. Maggie fondly remembers their mother spelling words in front of him, including “candy,” so often that he began calling it “d-y.” Those sweet, funny memories remained precious to her, reminders that before he was a highway patrolman, husband, father, or Papa, he was her little brother.

Alfred was also a proud and protective uncle. He and his niece, Chris Testa, shared a special bond, plenty of laughter, and a few secrets the rest of the family still knows nothing about. Left alone together too long, they were likely to find themselves in trouble with Nanny. Some of those stories, it seems, will remain confidential. His great-niece, Jenny, Chris’s daughter, was another cherished part of the family he loved so dearly.

But of all the names Alfred answered to, “Papa” was among the most precious. His grandchildren, Riley and Connor, held an extraordinary place in his heart. Alongside his love for Peggy, they were his greatest joy. He delighted in being their Papa, and his pride in them and love for them were things they could always count on.

Alfred’s faith was an important and enduring part of his life. A longtime member of First Presbyterian Church in McAlester, he served as both a deacon and an elder. He was a God-fearing man who valued faithfulness, service, and taking care of his family. Beneath the jokes and the cowboy stories was a husband, father, and grandfather whose love was steady and sure.

His family will miss the stories, the laughter, the coffee conversations, the shared football games, and the comfort of simply having him there. They will miss the man who loved them fiercely, took pride in them, and could turn an ordinary moment into a memory worth keeping.

Alfred’s greatest legacy is not measured in years of service, rounds of golf, or even the success of a particularly elaborate practical joke. It is in the family who knew how deeply they were loved and the friends whose lives were better because he was in it.

He was a wonderful husband, a devoted father, a proud Papa, and a faithful friend. His stories will be told, his mischief will be remembered, and his love will remain.

His cherished family he leaves behind includes his wife, Peggy; daughter Wendi Vaughn and husband Mike; son Billy Ray McConathy and wife Nikki; grandchildren Riley Vaughn and Connor Vaughn; sister Maggie Testa; niece Chris Testa; great-niece Jenny Martin and her wife, Jodi; and great-great-niece Morgan Martin. He also treasured his sisters- and brothers-in-law, Lela and Gerry Williams, Hank Allen, and Travis and Peggy Cosgrove, and many nieces and nephews.

A memorial service celebrating Alfred’s life will be held on Saturday, October 17, 2026, at 11:00 am at Brumley Mills Funeral Home."