Ansel Card Obituary

Ansel Perry Card was born on December 5, 1947, in Hollis, Oklahoma, to Andrew Perry and Leona Card. His big brother, Bob, was 7 years older. Unfortunately, they lost their father in 1956 when Perry unexpectedly died, and Ansel was only 8½ years old. Leona went to Odessa, TX, for a year to beauty school while the boys were cared for by family, and then she returned to Ron, OK, where they lived until Bob finished high school. They then moved to Weatherford, OK, where Ansel graduated from high school in 1966.
While working in the wheat fields of Kansas, Ansel met Jackie Foos, who was waiting tables at the Wishbone Cafe. They fell in love and married in La Crosse, KS, on December 28, 1968. Shortly after Ansel joined the Air Force, he and Jackie welcomed their son, Shane, who was born on September 29, 1970, in Wichita, KS. Ansel was also stationed in tropical locales like Gwinn, in the upper peninsula of Michigan, and King Salmon, Alaska. Both Ansel and Jackie earned their Bachelor's degrees from Southwest Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, Master's degrees from Wichita State University, and PhD's from the University of Utah. Proximity to ski slopes was definitely a key factor in their choice of Salt Lake City for graduate school.
Jackie then secured a professorship at the University of Missouri in Columbia, so it was off to the Midwest for their next adventure. Ansel bounced around a bit at first, thought about becoming a game warden, and then worked on a farm in Harrisburg. The idea of running his own farm intrigued him, but those plans were foiled over a dispute about the size of the plot of land he was looking to buy; it was smaller than advertised, but the price wouldn't be lowered. So, as would be expected, he ended up as the recreational director at Renz Correctional Prison, just north of Jefferson City. From there, he worked his way up the corrections ladder to the position of Warden. Once Shane was off to college, they made the move down to Jefferson City. Ansel supervised three different prisons over his career: Tipton, Fulton, and Algoa. He spent his last 5 years of working life on the Missouri Parole Board before retiring in 2007. That was also the year that Jackie was diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer.
After they retired, Ansel and Jackie moved to Rockport, TX, to be closer to Jackie's brother, Jim, and his wife, Gayle. Rockport was Ansel's favorite place to live with plenty of golf, fishing, hot weather, and golf cart rides to Sonic. Their last dog, Lilly, joined the family there and was duly spoiled in every way. Eventually they moved to Pearland, TX, when Jackie's trips to MDAnderson became too much for them, and later Ansel was diagnosed with his own advanced cancer of the kidney. Despite these challenges, they again settled into their community with Jackie hanging out at the neighborhood pool and at her gossip bench and Ansel golfing with his drinking buddies. Over their many years together, the two of them enjoyed travel and time with family and friends. They especially cherished visits with their granddaughters, Hannah and Molly. Jackie died in 2017, and a little over a year later, Ansel and Lilly moved to Oregon to be near Shane and his family. Those last 5+ years were spent watching Sooner football with Shane, attending Hannah and Molly's performances and graduations, reading voraciously, telling stories, and making sure we all knew how much he loved us.
Ansel's health took a sudden turn for the worse in December. He was able to make it from the hospital to the comfort of his home, where Shane and his wife, Amy, cared for him with guidance from hospice. He made it to Christmas, which was his best day out of those last few weeks. Ansel died on his own terms, at his home in Albany, OR, on December 27, 2024, while holding Shane's hand, surrounded by Hannah, Molly, Amy, her parents, and her brother.