Delbert "Del" James Christy was born on June 8, 1943 in Yuba City, California to Oley Edward Christy and Oria C. Hieter.

Del fought myelodysplastic syndromes for ten years and, in August 2017, it progressed to acute myeloid leukemia. After completing chemotherapy, the cancer went into remission, but the chemotherapy took a toll on his organs. Del went to be with Jesus on Thursday, September 14, 2017 at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas.

Del worked for Rockwell International, he worked on the program to build the payload bay doors on the space shuttle Challenger. He worked at Nordam, Boeing, and Lockheed-Martin and was still employed with Lockheed when he passed. He worked for Lockheed for 16 years.

He was ordained a minister, and served as associate pastor of the Bethel Evangelistic Center in Tulsa with pastors Shirley and Elijah Gay. Del met Rhonda at the Bethel Evangelistic Center in 1980 at the and they married on December 8, 1980.

If you had a need, Del would be there for you, asking nothing in return. His father-in-law said Del is a man who will give you the shirt off his back. Del loved to study the Word in the Bible and any books that had history of the Bible's forefathers. He also loved history in general, whether it be history of our great country or other countries. His favorite hero was John Wayne--he had every movie John Wayne made and would watch them over again just like it was the first time he had ever seen them.

Del was preceded in death by his parents, Oley Edward Christy and Oria C. (Hieder) Christy, and one sibling, Edward Christy, who died in infancy.

Del is survived by his wife, Rhonda Christy, of the home. He is survived by his children Todd Christy, James Christy, Erica Christy, Peyton Christy, Chloe Christy, Gwendelyn Christy, Kimberly Christy, Robert Christy and his wife Becky. He is survived by his two granddaughters, Kelcey Woodward and her husband Joel, and Megan Schraad and her husband Ben. He is survived by one brother, Donald Christy, and his wife Denise, and two sisters, Doris Stubben and Dixie Ford and her husband Troy. He is also survived by two great grandchildren, Ellie Woodward and Kyson Schraad; and a gaggle of relatives and friends.

Funeral services for Del will be held at 1:00pm on Tuesday, September 19th at the Nuyaka Baptist Church of Okmulgee, Oklahoma. Burial will follow at Beggs Cemetery under the direction of Williamson-Spradlin Funeral Home.