Otice Sircy, 84, of Arlington, Va. passed away Dec. 20, 2024 due to complications of pneumonia. Services will be at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Lawton, Okla. at a later date.

Otice was born Sept. 15, 1940 in Wichita Falls, Tex. to parents Otice and Virginia (LaLonde) Sircy. He grew up in nearby Petrolia, Tex. before graduating from the University of Texas in Austin with a Bachelor of Science degree. He received a Master of English degree from the University of North Texas in Denton and completed further doctoral work at the University of Wisconsin, Madison with a concentration in British literature.

Sircy’s teaching career began with positions at various high schools in Tex. In 1968, he began a long teaching career as an English professor at Cameron University in Lawton, Okla. It was in Lawton that he met and married Virginia Rice, also a Cameron University faculty member, on Aug. 30, 1969.

After retiring from Cameron University in 2000, Sircy began a second career as Curator for the Percussive Arts Society Museum, responsible for the management and showcasing of the museum’s collection of valuable instruments. He also continued his study of the cello and performed as a member of the Lawton Philharmonic Orchestra and various chamber music groups.