Anthony Tony John Felder Jr. was 48 when he died after a rattlesnake bite sustained during the 2016 season in Okeene, Oklahoma. A lifelong snake hunter and second-generation land surveyor, he was airlifted to Integris Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City and spent roughly two weeks in and out of mediflighs and the intensive care unit before passing on September 12, 2016. His funeral was held at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church and he was buried in Calvary Cemetery.

Felder’s involvement in the Okeene Rattlesnake Roundup and family tradition of handling rattlesnakes is central to his story; he had been hospitalized for bites before and organized his life around both surveying and the yearly roundup. Reports describe a lengthy medical struggle and heavy expenses that prompted a community fundraiser organized by his son. The death is described as resulting from venomous envenomation, with no criminal investigation or suspects mentioned.

Did anyone in Okeene know Tony or his family, or attend the roundup during that season and recall the circumstances around his injury?