John Keith (Jake) Work was born at his Aunt Ethel's house near Tribbey, Oklahoma, on July 7, 1940. He passed peacefully to Heaven on December 19, 2025, in Cheyenne, Oklahoma. He was the son of Ervan (Mope) and Floydetta (Flitter) Work and has an older sister, Nancy, who gave him the nickname "Jake."

His father worked in pipeline construction, and their family went with him on most jobs. When they were not on a job, he usually stayed with his grandparents in Box, Oklahoma. Later, his parents bought a house in Tulsa, and he lived there part-time for a few years. Jake attended many elementary schools, including one in Canada. However, he lived with his grandmother and attended most of high school at Wanette, Oklahoma, where he graduated in 1958. During high school, he played on the baseball team, and baseball became his favorite spectator sport. The Texas Rangers was his favorite team, and he attended many of their games.

Jake had a beautiful singing voice and, as a youth, often sang at church and community events, accompanied by his mother on the piano. He played the guitar, and one of his prized possessions was a Gibson guitar he purchased at the Sturgis, Michigan, factory in 1958.

Fishing was his favorite pastime as a child, and it remained a lifelong passion. His mother also loved to fish, so she took him to many places to fish. He fished for salmon in Washington, mountain pike in Canada, sailfish in the Gulf of Mexico, trout in Colorado, and catfish in rivers and ponds. However, his favorite fishing experiences were bass fishing on Lake Texoma with his best friend, Ray Morgan. The most fun he had fishing was with his children and his grandchildren.

After graduating from high school in 1958, he enrolled at East Central State University in Ada, Oklahoma. However, pipelining was in his blood, so he quit college to join his family on pipeline jobs.

Jake married Marian Ellen Fry in 1959, when she graduated from high school. They continued to follow the pipeline work for four years. They bought their first house in Tulsa, and their first child, Jeffery, was born there in 1962.

In 1963, Jake had had enough of pipelining and was ready to go back to school, so they moved to Dallas. Jake and Marian's second child, Laura, was born in Irving, Texas, in 1968.

He attended night school and worked at several places until he was hired by Texas Instruments in 1965. He worked the night shift and attended school in the daytime at the University of Texas at Arlington. After transferring to Sherman with TI in 1978, Jake finished his Bachelor's degree in 1980 at East Texas State University. During the 12 years it took to earn his degree, Jake worked full-time, was a hands-on dad, and was active in the church.

When he started working at Texas Instruments, he worked as a machinist. However, he worked in TI's defense division as a design engineer for most of his career. He was part of the team that developed the Shrike Missile system, which was used during the Gulf Wars. In this role, he visited the Pentagon and met with members of Congress and other officials concerning the contracts. After TI sold its defense division, John continued to work for TI in different departments. He traveled to Ford headquarters near Detroit several times to help refine the computerized systems installed in the dashboards of new vehicles.

After retiring from TI, he worked for short periods as an adjunct professor at Grayson County College, a teacher at the Choctaw Indian Nation, and at Hutchins Plumbing in Sherman.

Jake retired at age 57 from Texas Instruments to spend more time with his grandchildren, to volunteer, and to travel with Marian.

They loved having their grandchildren visit their home in Denison or traveling with them to Colorado or New Mexico. One important goal he had as a grandfather was to see all five grandchildren graduate from college. To help them achieve that goal, he and Marian provided funds to pay full tuition at the college of their choice.

Jake volunteered at Share Ministries in Sherman for several years. He traveled with Texas Baptist Men Disaster Relief to Houston, Texas, and Lafayette, Louisiana, in 2005 in response to Hurricane Katrina. Jake and Marian made several trips to Juarez, Mexico, with Trinity Baptist Church in Sherman to build houses for displaced families. He also traveled to Brazil, Lithuania, and Hawaii with Wayne Wood Ministries to help build or improve churches or other facilities.

In 1999, they volunteered for the first time at Glorieta Conference Center in New Mexico. They fell in love with Glorieta and bought a cabin there a few years later. Some of their favorite times at Glorieta were hosting family and friends at their cabin. They continued to volunteer there for several weeks each year until the Southern Baptist Convention divested itself of the property in 2013.

In addition to traveling on mission trips, John and Marian completed their goal to see all 50 states. They also took several cruises, including an Alaska cruise and a Panama Canal cruise, as well as land tours to New England and the Low Country of the Southeast with Sellers Tours of Sherman.

After being Texans for over 50 years, John and Marian moved to Cheyenne in 2014 to be near Laura and her family. They felt welcome in Cheyenne and appreciated the services of the small town. John especially enjoyed visiting the library and reading the books they provided. He volunteered at the Washita Battlefield National Historic Site for several years. Also, he served as a mentor at the school.

Jake's family attended church as often as possible as he was growing up. He had a godly mother, and his dad supported their desire to attend church. However, Jake did not come to know Jesus as his Savior and Lord until he was an adult. Jake and Marian joined East Dallas Baptist Church, and there, in 1965, he was saved. Although he had attended church all his life and was baptized as a child, he realized he was not truly a Christian.

Accepting Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord was a life-changing experience for him. He started working with Royal Ambassadors and continued that for about 25 years. In 1983, he was ordained as a Deacon at Trinity Baptist Church in Sherman and served for 25 years. As Chairman for many years, he helped develop the Deacon Body's Family Care Ministry. After moving to Cheyenne, he sang in the choir and taught Men's Sunday School at First Baptist Church.

"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." - 2 Timothy 4:7-8

Survivors include his wife, Marian; son, Jeffery and Jan Work, Houston, Texas; and daughter, Laura Hillman, Cheyenne, Oklahoma. His five grandchildren are Joseph and Cidnye Work, Austin, Texas; Rachel and Ryan Christensen, Katy, Texas; Lia Hillman, Reydon, Oklahoma; Rebecca Work, New York City; and John (Jace) Hillman, Cheyenne, Oklahoma. His two great-grandsons are James Christensen and Jackson Work. John is also survived by his sister, Nancy Payne, Tulsa, Oklahoma; one sister-in-law, June Cantrell, Duncan, Oklahoma; and one brother-in-law, James Fry and Lee, Greenwood, Arkansas; his best friend for over 60 years, Ray Morgan, Dallas, Texas; and David Hillman, the father of his grandchildren Lia and Jace, Reydon, Oklahoma. He is also survived by many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

He was preceded by his parents, his sister-in-law, Martha Turner, three brothers-in-law, Stephen Turner, Jim Cantrell, and Tom Payne, and nieces, Kimberly Humphrey, Cinda Addison, and Tammi Furgeson.

If desired, memorials can be given to Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief, Texas Baptist Disaster Relief, or a charity of choice.