A funeral service to celebrate the life of Levi Milam was held on Saturday at Brown’s Funeral Home Chapel with a committal service following at Bokchito Cemetery.
Milam was a Bennington firefighter, and numerous area fire departments had trucks in the procession and also on overpasses on the Durant bypass and parked on the street in Bokchito with flags flying. Members of the Sherman Fire-Rescue Honor Guard also were a part of the service that was officiated by Bro. Ross Phillips.
Corey Jordan, Casey Jordan, Joseph Jordan, Keyondra Williams, Ty Coker, Michael Musgrove and Chris Gibson served as pallbearers.
Milam died Dec. 21 in a car crash in Durant, and he would have turned 25 on Dec. 28.
In a social media post after the Dec. 21 accident, the Bennington Rural Volunteer Fire Department said, “Our hearts are heavy today. As many of you know, we lost one of our own yesterday. Levi joined us as a junior firefighter in high school in 2017 and progressed through FF1/wildland firefi ghter. He will be missed greatly by us and many more. We are overwhelmed with the outreach of support being offered for him and family after this tragedy.”
Among family members Milam has left behind are his wife Tristan and their son Ridge.
Milam’s obituary states that he was raised and attended schools in Bokchito and Bennington, graduating in 2019. He worked as a welder and was self-employed. He married Tristan McPherson on October 26, 2023, in Atoka. He was very involved with the Bennington Fire Department and took great pride in helping people. He enjoyed fishing, big bonfires and playing pool. His joy was spending time with his son Ridge and all his family and friends.
At the conclusion of the committal service, an emergency dispatcher from the Bryan County Communications Center broadcast, “Levi, this is your last call. You served the Bennington Fire Department as a volunteer with dedication, integrity and heart. You gave your time and service to your community … Firefighter Milam, your watch ended. On behalf of your fellow firefighters, EMS, officers and your community, we thank you for your service. We have it from here.”
Latonya Jordan said Milam was like a son to her and he was best friends with her boys. Her sons, JW and Casey were in the vehicle with Milam during the crash. They sustained bruises but were otherwise okay.
Jordan appreciated the tributes paid to Milam.
“I just thank everyone for showing up and making his last ride exactly how he would want it,” Jordan said. “We had a lady tell us she counted 33 (fire trucks) coming through Bokchito,” Jordan said.
Bennington Rural Volunteer Fire Department promised that Milam would always be remembered.
“Thank you to all that helped bring this together for our brother,” the department said.
A GoFundMe account to help Milam’s family is at www. gofundme.com/f/support-forlevis- family-after-tragic-loss.
