HERMON FLOYD ABNEY
(DECEMBER 28, 1917 - MARCH 9, 1987)  

HERMON FLOYD ABNEY was born December 28, 1917 in Stratford, Oklahoma.  Hermon was the first of his family to graduate from high school.  When WWII came, Hermon was already married, with a wife and children.  When his younger brother, Clarence, was killed in the invasion of France, Hermon joined the U.S. Navy, although he could have been exempt because of his family.  He served as a Hospital Corpsman.  Upon separation from the Navy, he ran a Laundromat in Stratford, Oklahoma for several years, then moved to Los Angeles, California where he joined the Los Angeles Police Department and served for 20 years.  During his service with the Los Angeles Police Department he worked Parking and Intersection Control, assigned to the Hollenbeck District, which was a predominantly Mexican-American community.  While there the local newspaper did a feature article on him.  Hermon was very poplar with his fellow officers and ran for the Police Protective League and was elected.  He served several terms in that position.  During his police service, Hermon received several commendations and awards for community service.  After his retirement from the Los Angeles Police Department he returned to Stratford, Oklahoma, where he served as Chief of Police on two separate occasions.  During his tenure as chief of police, Hermon was very active with the Little League and other community activities.  At the time of his death, he was working alone flailing and picking up pecans.  There, he suffered a fatal heart attack.  At the time of his death, he was a member of the Los Angeles Fire and Police Association, the American Legion, and the First Baptist Church of Stratford.  His services were held at the First Baptist Church in Stratford, Oklahoma, with the pastor, Jim Brown, officiating.  He is buried in the Abney Cemetery, which, in the last years of his life, he had voluntarily maintained for the Abney family.