At Monday morning’s regular county commission meeting, commissioners presented a proclamation honoring the late Oscar Paulk, commissioner for District 1 who suddenly passed away on June 22, 2025. Several members of Commissioner Paulk’s family were at the meeting.
County attorney Tony Rowell read the proclamation, which can be seen in its entirety below. After he spoke, commissioners and members of Mr. Paulk’s family gathered for a photo.
“Mr. Paulk was a great man. Nobody will ever fill this seat by me again. We’ve been here the whole time together. He didn’t say a lot but he meant what he said. You could take him for his word,” said Commissioner AJ Dovers.
“I enjoyed working with Mr. Paulk over the years. He was always kind and thoughtful. I really enjoyed working with him,” said county clerk Tracie Vickers.
“I too enjoyed the time I spent with Mr. Paulk. I was always impressed by what he said because when he spoke, you could depend on it. He was sincere and well considered. He listened before he spoke and he understood and he made sure he was aware of what needed to be perceived. He treated everybody with great respect and he commanded respect. It was a great pleasure to have the opportunity to get to know him and I appreciate it,” said county attorney Tony Rowell.
“He was always a great man of integrity. Any time he spoke, it wasn’t just loose lipped. He had a lot of integrity and that’s hard to find in this day and time,” said Commissioner Ted O’Steen.
“Mr. Paulk was certainly all of the things everybody has said here. He was a great gentleman and he was a good southern gentleman. One I do know about Mr. Paulk is that he loved his family. Mr. Paulk loved to come in here and talk about to Texas and seeing the grandkids. He made special trips and he really enjoyed and loved his family. Loving his family meant he loved his community and he wanted what was best for his family and his community. That was his vision – doing what was right for Coffee County,” said Commissioner Jimmy Kitchens.
“There’s a lot I could say because he was all of this and a whole lot more. In his silence, he spoke volumes. It was a lesson for me and I learned a lot from Mr. Paulk,” said county commission chair Johnny Wayne Jowers.
When everyone had finished speaking, the commissioners gathered with members of Mr. Paulk’s family in front of the commission desk: Darlene Paulk, Mr. Paulk’s wife; Felicia Paulk Wilson, Mr. Paulk’s daughter; Hazel Brock, his sister; and Mayor Tony Paulk, his son.
Commissioner Paulk was elected to his seat in 2014. His first day of office was January 1, 2015. The county will hold a special election in November to fill the District 1 seat.