Bio of Robert Otis Waldron - Alfalfa County, Oklahoma Submitted by: William C. Spencer III <ky4o@comcast.net> 15 May 2009 Return to Oklahoma Lawmen and Outlaws Archives: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/law/oklaw.html ===================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ===================================================================== Robert Otis Waldron 4 March, 1896 - 12 July 1959 Link to photgraph: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/law/waldron.jpg by William C. Spencer III, his Great Nephew To me he was just Uncle Otis, but as I found out in my research, he was a lot more to the communities of Southwest Oklahoma and northern Texas. His law enforcement career spanned 34 years and he was respected by his peers and the general public. Otis was born in Oklahoma Indian Territory near Anadarko on March 4, 1896 and grew up around Waurika and Walters. After his service in World War I, he returned to Walters where he married Carrie Mae "Babe" Foster. He tried the Taxi business for several years and then in 1925 began his law enforcement work as a deputy sheriff in Jefferson County where he served for six years. He then moved to Walters and was a Cotton County deputy for two years. In 1933 he moved to Lawton, in Comanche County, and joined the city police force for two years. He then was a deputy sheriff under Comanche County's Sheriff Fritz McCarty. Upon Sheriff McCarty's death in 1936, Otis served as sheriff until the end of his term. He remained in the sheriff's department under Sheriff Dunk Cook, and others, for the next six years and then rejoined the Lawton police force in 1943 for another two year stint. He then went back to the sheriff's department under Sheriff Ed Gartrell for four years and was appointed sheriff upon Gartrell's resignation in August of 1948. Otis ran for sheriff in 1948, but lost. In 1950 he ran again and was elected sheriff of Comanche County where he served one term. He then returned to the Lawton police department as a lieutenant of detectives. In 1955 he was appointed captain of detectives where he was serving at the time of his death. There are many colorful stories of his exploits, but the one thing he was proudest of was that he never had to take a life of even the most desperate criminal as he was always able to talk them into giving up. I remember him getting called to talk a particularly nasty old drunk Comanche out of busting up the place and possibly hurting himself or others. The word was that only Otis can talk to this guy. I remember many stills broken up and many gambling operations shut down just while I was staying the summer with him. He would always come home for lunch and then listen to Paul Harvey on the radio. Their politics were totally opposite, but he wanted to support an Oklahoma boy who done good! --------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to Oklahoma Lawmen and Outlaws Archives: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/law/oklaw.html