Clerk's kindness remembered
BY BRIAN BARBER World Staff Writer
Sunday, August 10, 2003
5/21/08 at 1:13 AM
Hundreds pay their respects to the store clerk who was gunned down during a robbery.
Paul Silkey's white cowboy hat sat atop his steel blue coffin Saturday, a tribute to a good guy who was shot down by one of the bad guys.
Hundreds of Silkey's family members, friends and co-workers filled First Baptist Church of Turley to remember Silkey's big heart and ready smile.
"I remember the first time he and I met," said the Rev. George "Butch" Juby. "I started grinning, so he wondered what
was funny. I told him that he sure did remind me of Hoss from that old TV show 'Bonanza.' "
The character was a giant man with a gentle personality, much like Silkey, Juby said.
"Paul just laughed at my observation," Juby said. "He had a great sense of humor."
It's memories like that, Juby said, that those who knew Silkey can keep.
Silkey, 30, was working at the Git-n-Go at 4826 E. 33rd St. early Wednesday when he was
shot to death by a robber. The gunman, who has not been caught, left with only $30.
At the time of his death, Silkey, who also was a volunteer firefighter in Turley, had only been married two months.
He had a young stepson, Bradley, and his wife, Tiffany, is expecting a baby.
At the funeral, his sister-in-law read a poem from Bradley that promised to take care of the baby when it is born.
The boy, who had come to call Silkey by the name "Daddy Paul," wore a cowboy hat exactly like Silkey's into the church
but took it off as he buried his face in his mother's arms during the service.
"Paul was young, and he had his whole life to look forward to and a new family to spend it with," Juby said.
"The entire city has been shaken by his death. I've been amazed by the number of calls offering
condolences to the family. People who never even knew Paul have been touched by him."
But it is time to move on, Juby said, and not dwell on Silkey's death.
"He has not been lost," Juby said. "You only lose something when you don't know where it's at. We know where Paul is right now, and it's a much better place."
Silkey's fellow firefighters served as pallbearers as he was buried at South Heights Cemetery in Sapulpa.
Police and Git-n-Go officials are hoping that a $10,000 reward posted by the company will help catch Silkey's killer.
Anyone with information about the robbery should call Crime Stoppers at 596-COPS. Tipsters may remain anonymous.
The Turley Fire Department and Git-n-Go are both taking donations for Silkey's family.
Donations also can be sent to the Stanley Paul Silkey Family Trust Fund, Attn: Rhonda
McEntire, F & M Bank, 1924 S. Utica Ave., Suite 100, Tulsa, OK 74104.
Brian Barber 581-8322
brian.barber@tulsaworld.com
