Former longtime Tulsa County Assessor Ken Yazel passed away October 4 in Grove, Oklahoma. He was 76.

“Ken Yazel was not a politician,” said Tulsa Beacon publisher Charles Biggs. “He was an American patriot who sacrificed his privacy and personal finances to serve Tulsa County. He left the assessor’s office in much better shape than he found it. He will be missed.”

Yazel, a proud veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, was first elected assessor in 2002. He was re-elected in 2006, 2010 and 2014. He chose not to run against in 2018 but retired to a home he built near Flint Creek and the Illinois River in Eastern Oklahoma.

Tulsa County Assessor John Wright was endorsed by Yazel as his replacement.

“I first met Ken Yazel while I was knocking doors in 1998 and he was at that time a resident of Broken Arrow, when I was elected to the State House of Representatives,” Wright said. “He was not elected as the county assessor until 2002. In his gregarious way, he invited me to his 1999 super bowl party and that was the start of what became a friendship as well as a professional association as he would contact me, as well as others in the Tulsa area legislative delegation, to address his ideas and concerns on a few various pieces of legislation under consideration.

“When I termed out of the house in 1998, he essentially recruited me out of my real estate brokerage to join his efforts in the assessor’s office. Over the years I have known Ken as a mentor, a leader, a fellow conservative republican, a very generous human being and  most of all as a friend. We’ll all miss him.”

Yazel was a friend to Tulsa County Court Clerk Don Newberry.

“First and foremost, Ken Yazel was a man who cared about people,” said Newberry. “Upon meeting him for the first time, I was instantly impressed with the way he made a priority out of others. He had stopped by our office to visit, and I asked him a question about my property taxes.  He promptly cleared his personal schedule for the morning and took the time to teach me everything I wanted to know about how ad valorem worked. He viewed himself as a public servant and took every opportunity to serve the taxpayer.”

Newberry later went to work for Yazel in the Assessor’s Office.

“Ken was not only my employer but became a friend and mentor to me over the next 11 years; encouraging me to continue my education and supporting me when I decided to run for the Court Clerk position. Ken was a kind and giving man.  Even when he disagreed with someone, he was still concerned about their well-being.

“He was also something of a renaissance man. Having never finished high school, due to the years he spent in the family circus, Ken later joined the Marines, served in Vietnam, completed graduate school, and retired as a Major.  He went on to run several small businesses and ultimately ran to become the Assessor of Tulsa County.

“Ken was my employer and my friend.  He was my mentor, and my staunch supporter.   He encouraged me to better myself, and plan for my future.  He dreamed big for himself & for others, and he left very big shoes to fill in this life.  I will miss him greatly.”

Yazel was proud of his upbringing. He worked in his family’s business, the Famous Cole Circus, near Hugo. As a youth, he left to find his own path and he said with a smile that he was the only kid he knew who “ran away to leave the circus.”

After the military, he earned a bachelor’s of science degree in math from The University of Oklahoma. Yazel took accounting at the Wharton School of Finance. He also studied at George Washington University, American University and The University of Tulsa.

Yazel was a successful businessman but he chose to enter politics to promote genuine transparency and authentic conservative fiscal policy.

Yazel was a stickler for the law yet he enthusiastically invited property owners to contest appraisals if they felt they were in error. Yazel was a conservative voice on the Tulsa County Budget Board. He arranged for advanced training for his staff so they could better serve the citizens.

Yazel  died in Grove, Oklahoma on October 4. He was born in Kansas City, Kansas on February 27, 1945, to Tom and Shirley (Walters) Yazel.

He Is proceeded in death by both parents.

He is survived by his sons, Terrence Yazel and wife Rhonda of Madison, Wisconsin, and Kenneth Yazel, Jr., and wife Christi of Grand Prairie, Texas; daughters, Robbi McGraw of Dallas, Texas and Liza Yazel of Cabuyao, Laguna, Philippines, and a brother, Lyle Yazel.

He had several grandchildren, stepchildren, and great grandchildren.

A memorial gathering was held at Wasson Funeral Home in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, on October 9.

Memorial donations in lieu of flowers can be made to: www.endangeredarkfoundation.org.