I was born November 5, 1954 to Orah June Terry and Tommy Gene Chancellor at the P & S Hospital in Holdenville, Oklahoma. Holdenville is located about 70 miles southeast of Oklahoma City in the south central part of the state, in Hughes County. I spent the next 18 years growing up and going to school here.
In September of 1971 I met the girl who was to become my wife, Mary Suzanne Rinehart. We were set up on a "blind date" by her best friend who was dating a boy from Holdenville. Though she lived in Wetumka (about 20 miles from Holdenville), we managed to be together almost every weekend for the next two years. In 1972 we decided to marry after graduation. During my senior year in high school I decided to enlist in the United States Air Force to insure a steady income and medical benefits. I graduated in May, we were married on July 2, and I was leaving for basic training on July 12, 1973.
Besides enlisting early in the USAF (about 6 months before graduating) I had also taken the 6 year enlistment which came with Airman 1st class stripes out of basic training and a little extra pay to start off with. After graduation from basic my mother assisted us in getting out first car, a 1967 Firebird Coupe, to drive to my first duty station. My first assignment was to Ent AFB and Peterson Field, later changed to Peterson AFB, Colorado Springs, Colorado. This was great for us as Susies brother Pete Rinehart was stationed at Fort Carson, right across town. Our apartment was all set up when we arrived. Things were great the first few weeks and then we were involved in a bad car accident. We were returning from an early morning dental appointment at the base and I ran a red light and hit a 1973 Chevy Blazer broadside. Neither of us were hurt badly, but I did have a slight concussion and short term loss of memory (about 3 weeks worth). That was in October or November. Around January or February we found out Susie was pregnant.
By the way......both the Firebird and the Blazer were totalled. I think they paid a whopping $925 for the Firebird. Sure wish I had it back.
Lesli Diane Chancellor was born to us at the Air Force Acadamy Hospital on October 10, 1974. We got to spend the next 11 months or so in Colorado Springs and then I got orders to a new station. I was leaving for Osan AFB, Korea just about a month before Lesli's first birthday. No problem, we just had a birthday party a month early so I could be there. Korea is an unaccompanied tour and at first we accepted it, but not for long. About 3 months into my tour Susie and Lesli had their passports and joined me in Korea on tourist visas and finished out the tour with me.
At the end of my tour of duty in Korea, I was given first choice of assignments in the U.S. as long as there was an opening, and I requested and was given Tinker AFB in Oklahoma City. We spent the rest of my enlistment there. Just before my enlistment was up Susie became pregnant with David Shane Chancellor. In fact, we were hoping he would be born before my last day of active duty. He barely squeeked in, coming into the world on July 10, 1979. By that time I had a nice civilian job working for Scrivner, Inc., a food warehouse. I remained in that job for the next 15 years. Most of our years in Oklahoma Susie was also working, as a Certified Nurses Aide, at South Community Hospital in south Oklahoma City. In 1995 we decided to move back to Holdenville where a new private prison was being built and a good chance I could be hired there. I took a temporary job at Wal-Mart in Holdenville until I was hired in the first group of employees for Davis Correctional Facility, Corrections Corp. of America. I am still employed at the medium security prison as of July 2010.