64 years old
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Justin Nightengale
1 story, 2 photos
Dan Baker
1 memory
Sharon Woods
1 memory
Shirlene Oakes
1 memory
Janice Mitchell
1 memory
Jona Knoble
1 memory
“She reminded people of their own beauty, inside and out. One of her purposes in life was to help others see the good in themselves, and she did it without ever seeming to try.”
What people carry
She reminded people of their own beauty, inside and out. One of her purposes in life was to help others see the good in themselves, and she did it without ever seeming to try.
Her laughter and her fun nature drew people in. Being around her felt lighter. You walked away feeling more like yourself.
She loved her children in a profound way, and her grandchildren brought out her brightest light. When she looked at you, you knew you were loved.
Whether you were family, a student, or a customer in her chair, she made you feel like you belonged. Nobody was a stranger for long.
Words for them
What I would tell her
Mom, I still hear your laugh. Thank you for working so hard for us, for filling our home with music, and for teaching me that loving people is something you do with your hands and your whole heart. I started cooking at six just to be near you and to help. I am still trying to make you laugh. I love you, and I carry you with me every day.
Their presence
Her smile and her laugh
Mom had an infectious smile and a laugh that pulled everyone toward her. Making her laugh was one of my favorite things in the world. Once you heard it, you wanted to hear it again.
A hard worker, always
She worked hard her whole life, from the Enid Country Club to waiting tables to long days standing behind a salon chair. She never made it look like a burden. She just showed up and gave it everything she had.
Full of love
She was warm and loving to everyone she met. She had a gift for making a stranger feel like an old friend within minutes.
Creative hands
She was endlessly crafty. She made dolls, knit, sewed, crocheted, and made jewelry. Whatever she picked up, she found a way to make it beautiful.
Faith at her center
She was a woman of faith. God mattered to her, and it showed in how gently and generously she treated the people around her.
A little spark from the start
She was a cheerleader when she was young, and that bright, encouraging spirit never left her. She spent her life cheering other people on.
What they stood for
Family came first, always.
Her children and grandchildren were the center of her world. Everything she worked for came back to them.
Faith in God guided her.
She was religious, and her faith shaped the kind, generous way she treated everyone around her.
Everyone is beautiful, inside and out.
One of her life purposes was to remind others of their own outer and inner beauty. She lived it behind the chair and everywhere else.
Hard work is simply how you show up.
She worked hard her whole life and rarely complained about it. Work was just how she took care of the people she loved.
Love people through what you make for them.
Whether it was a haircut, a wedding cake, or a handmade doll, she gave her love in a form you could hold.
The texture of their days
For years she had a small salon about six miles outside Cleo Springs, Oklahoma. It was out in the country, but her customers happily drove thirty minutes or more to sit in her chair. They came for the haircut and stayed for her.
She graduated from Enid Beauty College and later came back to teach there. Her students loved her. She had a way of making everyone feel like a friend, and she sent people back out into the world feeling a little better about themselves than when they walked in.
She was a wonderful cook and baker, and she even baked wedding cakes. Watching her work in the kitchen is a big part of why I started cooking myself at six years old, wanting to help out with Jona and me.
She loved music and she loved to sing. She had a beautiful voice, and the house always seemed to have a song in it somewhere.
Dolls, knitting, sewing, crochet, jewelry. She poured her love into people through the things she made for them, and there was almost always a project going.
She loved to decorate. Her style was a blended farmhouse look, warm and inviting but never cluttered. Every room felt like her.
