Jerry Lem Cain

Jerry Lem Cain, 77, loving husband, father and friend, died peacefully at home Friday, Oct. 3, 2008, following complications from congestive heart failure and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Born May 6, 1931, in Boatman, Oklahoma, to Albert Columbus Cain and Emma Frances Armstrong, he was the family's youngest child and only living son. He spent his youth €“ under the watchful eyes and care of seven older sisters - in rural Mayes County where life on a depression-era farm built the foundation for a work ethic that never waned. He developed a love of reading early and when life was hard books provided both escape and entertainment. He rode the family farm horse, Midnight, to attend Cole School, and also attended schools in Adair and Ogreta. He graduated Pryor High School in 1948. He sold fountain pens to earn the money to buy his first car. He began his career with Beneficial Finance in Tulsa. He then went to work for Interstate Securities and transferred in 1954 with that company to Carlsbad, New Mexico, where he worked as branch manager. To earn extra money, he worked as Pat Boone's stand-in for the movie, Journey to the Center of the Earth, which was being filmed in Carlsbad Caverns. Later promoted to district supervisor, the company transferred him to Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1959. He moved his young family back to Oklahoma in 1963 and worked for Salina-Spavinaw Telephone Company in Pryor.
In 1976, he founded Cain Loan and Investment in Pryor and operated the company up to the time of his death. He developed a love of tennis as a young man and played avidly into his 50s. When his health forced him to become a tennis fan, he reignited his love affair with books and in recent years was a regular patron of Helmrich Library. Recent mornings would find him transforming his backyard into a park, while afternoons would find him napping with the family's schnauzer, Koa. He lived a life of quiet faith and was kind to all. He will be greatly missed by his family and all friends who mourn his passing.
He is survived by his wife, Nancy, of the home; son and daughter-in-law, Lance Cain and Betty Bradford, Denver; daughters, Cindy Cain and Amy Campbell, both of Tulsa; granddaughters Heather, Michelle and Amanda DeWitt of San Diego; and nephews, J.R. Walker and Jimmy Powell.
A memorial service will be held Tuesday, October 7, 2008, at 3 p.m. at Trinity Presbyterian Church, 9303 S. 111th St., Bixby. The family will receive friends in Fellowship Hall following the service. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the American Heart Association, a local library, or Trinity Presbyterian Church.