Allen Dukes Inducted into the Capital Hill Athletic/Activities Association Hall of Fame July 15, 2006

Class of 70
Cathy Petkoff

Cathy Petkoff Former Anchorage resident Cathy Petkoff, 55, died Sept. 17, 2007, at home in Moore, Okla. A funeral Mass will be at 2 p.m. today at St. James Catholic Church, 4201 S. McKinley, Oklahoma City, Okla. Burial will be afterward at Resthaven Memory Gardens in Oklahoma City. Published in the Anchorage Daily News on 9/21/2007.

Class of 69

Joseph Paul Rowden

01/06/2000

ROWDEN Joseph Paul, age 48, passed away unexpectedly at his home Jan. 3, 2000. He was born in OKC on Feb. 6, 1951 to Marion and Mary Rowden, who preceded him in death along with his sister Joyce Pitcock and brother Johnnie Rowden. He graduated from Capitol Hill High School in 1969. He was an active member of the Marine Corps from 1970-1972. His professional work included Frontier Airlines, station agent, and State of Oklahoma, asbestos removal. He enjoyed fishing, snowmobiling, camping, and watching football. He is survived by his daughter, Lyndsey & son, Jared; his siblings, Fred Rowden of Chandler, Jim Rowden of Bethany, Judy Connell of Rock Port, TX, Janis Rowden of OKC, Jeanie Kitchen of OKC, and Tina Rowden of OKC. A memorial gathering will be held Friday, Jan. 7, 2000 at 4:00 p.m. at Vondel L. Smith & Sons Mortuary with Rev. Ellis Risenhoover officiating

Former ECU Great Dies

05/01/1996

Claudell Overton, former great East Central University athlete and high school basketball coach, died Monday following triple by-pass surgery. He was 68.

Overton was the scoring star of East Central's 1950 national runner-up team in the NAIA tournament in Kansas City, and he played both professional basketball and baseball before launching a coaching career which spanned 18 seasons and included stops at Addington, Edmond, Bacone College, Drumright, Capitol Hill and Norman.

He is one of eight Oklahoma athletes in the NAIA basketball Hall of Fame, being elected in 1974. He and East Central teammate Stacy Howell were chosen to the five-player 1950 all-tournament team following the 61-57 title game loss to Indiana State. Claudell scored 19 points in the championship game and was the Oklahoma Collegiate Conference scoring champion that season with a 21.6 average for 31 games, a stout total for those days.

Overton had experienced circulatory problems for the past several years, but the by-pass surgery was a sudden decision.

"That's why it's such a shock," said son Bo Overton. "He had gone in for an exploratory examination and they put him on the operating table within hours.

"The physician said everything went well and full recovery was expected. Then he had a heart attack in the recovery room. " Funeral services are set for 10 a.m. Thursday 1 in the Norman First Baptist Church.

Del City basketball coach Allen Dukes, one of the six All-State basketball players produced by Overton, said Claudell's strength was as a teacher of the game.

"He could take average athletes and mold them into basketball players," Dukes said. "As an offensive coach, he was hard to beat.

Post play was his main strength. He taught most of his kids post play regardless of their size. Then in a game he'd find out who couldn't cover a post and he'd take that kid inside. " Claudell's pro experience included three summers (1947-49) as a catcher in the Yankees' minor league chain, a season (1952) of touring with the Harlem Globetrotters, minor league basketball service in 1951 and 1953 at Waterloo, Iowa, and New York City and 15 games in the NBA (1953) with the Philadelphia Warriors. He averaged 3.9 points a game in his NBA stint.

Survivors include wife, Sue, and their three children - Bo, now basketball assistant at Louisiana Tech; Dee Solomon, a teacher at Noble, and Cara Overton of Dallas - and his older daughter from a previous marriage, Susan Craton of Tulsa.