Search Archived Marriage Records
Mae-Frances Branscum
Mae-Frances (Cooper) Branscum died Dec. 12 in Gaithersburg, Md. She was 92.
Mrs. Branscum was born Jan. 11, 1906, in Okemah to Jasper A. "Dump" Cooper and Sarah Jane Wehunt Cooper. She married H.L. "Red" Branscum.
She attended area schools before moving in 1924. She was a homemaker and of the Methodist faith.
Survivors include one daughter and son-in-law, Edward and Marcheta Branscum Colson, Templeton, Calif.; two sisters, Delia Lemons, Okemah and Lucille McEwen, Bella Vista, Ark.; son-in-law, Dr. James Rosborough; six grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; five sisters-in-law, Alta Branscum Payne, Weleetka, Ola Mae Branscum, Edmond, Vergie Branscum Hall, Oklahoma City, Faye Branscum Powell, Graham, Texas, and Marjorie Cooper, Okemah; and many other relatives and friends.
She was preceded in death by her husband in 1970 and one daughter, Norma Jean Branscum Rosborough.
Graveside memorial services will be 11 a.m. Saturday at Highland Cemetery under the direction of Parks Brothers Funeral Home, Okemah, with the Rev. Don Lehman officiating.
Memorials may be made to the Memorial Fund of Grace Methodist Church, 119 N. Frederick Ave., Gaithersburg, Md. 20877-2441.
Allen Clayton Hibbs
Former Okemah resident Allen Clayton Hibbs died Saturday in Guthrie. He was 97.
Hibbs was born Sept. 14, 1901, to Joseph Carrol Hibbs and Laura Ellen (Muncy) Hibbs. He married Elsie Mae Parsons on Nov. 16, 1924, in Paden.
He had lived in Okemah, Wetumka and Paden before moving to Guthrie in 1982. He was a retired farmer and rancher and was a member of the Freewill Baptist Church.
Survivors include five sons and four daughters-in-law, Carrol and Claudine Hibbs, Stratford, Louis Albert and Ruth Hibbs, Oklahoma City; Lloyd and Claudine Hibbs, Guthrie, John and Frances Hibbs, Moore, and Allen Hibbs, Jones; two daughters and sons-in-law, Joyce and Elmer Sage, Ontario, Calif., and Betty Ann and Carrel Foster, Guthrie; daughter-in-law, Letrice Hibbs, Guthrie; two sisters-in-law, Jewell Titsworth, Shawnee, and Demah Parsons, Midwest City; 28 grandchildren; many great-grandchildren; several great-great-grandchildren and many other relatives and friends.
He was preceded in death by his wife on March 12, 1993; his parents; two sons, Glenn Hibbs and George Doyle Hibbs; one brother and one sister.
Services will be 10 a.m. today at the Parks Brothers Funeral Home Chapel, Prague, with the Rev. Lee Davis and the Rev. Carl Shivers officiating. Burial will be in the Paden Cemetery under the direction of the Parks Brothers Funeral Home, Prague.
Bobby Ray Colburn
Bobby Ray Colburn of Oakley, Kan., father of Randy J. Colburn of Shawnee, died Saturday at the age of 68.
Services will be 1 p.m. today at Sunrise Baptist Church, Oakley, Kan., with the Rev. Robert Phillips officiating. Burial will be at Vansburgh Cemetery, Brownell, Kan., at 3:30 p.m. Arrangements are under the direction of Kennedy-Koster Funeral Home of Oakley.
Bobby Ray Colburn was born June 1, 1930, in Ada, the son of Steven Jaspar and Ruby A. (Gibbs) Colburn. He was retired from the oil field and construction industries and had moved from Ransom, Kan., to Oakley in 1993.
Preceding him in death were his father, Steven Colburn, and two sons, Robin Colburn and Rodger Colburn.
Surviving are his mother, Ruby A. Gibbs, Oakley, Kan.; former wife, Wanda Joleen Strickler, Ransom, Kan.; sons, Robert S. Colburn, St. Charles, Mo., Randy J. Colburn, Shawnee, and Curtis P. Colburn and Jody L. Colburn, both of Lacey, Wash.; daughters, Sharon Zerr, Oakley, Kan., Tamara Mann, Dighton, Kan., Lori Haberer, Vanessa Griffith, Valerie Colburn, all of Colby, Kan., and Sharon Evans and Charlene Salas, both of Tulsa; and 14 grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to Sunrise Baptist Church or Oakley Manor Nursing Home, Oakley, Kan.
Carl L. Tooley
Carl L. Tooley, 76, of Guthrie died Friday in a Guthrie nursing home.
He was born Oct. 27, 1922, in Asher to William Perry and Elizabeth Tooley. He lived most of his life in the Guthrie area and was retired from Tinker Air Force Base after 38 years of service. He was a member of Noble Avenue Baptist Church and had served in the U.S. Army during World War II.
He married Ethel Lois Gambill in December 1942 and she preceded him in death in 1980. Also preceding him in death were his parents, nine brothers and sisters and one grandson.
Surviving are his daughter and son-in-law, Phyllis and Jerry Brewer, Spearman, Texas; sons and daughters-in-law, Albert and Barbara Tooley, Madison, Ala., and William and Marsha Tooley, Guthrie; sister-in-law, Jennie Tooley, Asher; and five grandchildren.
Services were Monday at Davis Funeral Home in Guthrie with burial at Summit View Cemetery of Guthrie.
Norman P. Haney Jr.
Longtime Indian activist Norman P. Haney Jr. of Shawnee died Saturday in McLoud at the age of 47.
Services will be 1:30 p.m. today at Seminole Hitchitee United Methodist Church, Seminole, with his brother-in-law, the Rev. Timothy Byington, officiating. Burial will be at the church cemeteryunder the direction of Roesch-Walker Funeral Chapel. The American Indian Movement Honor Drum will conduct a traditional ceremony led by Vernon and Clyde Bellecort. Wake was held Monday at the church.
Norman P. Haney Jr. was born Dec. 8, 1951, in Claremore, the son of Norman and Evelyn Brave Haney. He graduated from Bethany High School in 1970 and earned a bachelor of arts degree at Central State University in 1987. He received a masters degree in criminal justice administration from Oklahoma City University in 1989.
He was a member of Nagawee United Methodist Church, where he served as church lay leader at the time of his death. He was a lifetime member of the American Indian Movement and, in 1973, was the only Seminole defendant of the occupation of Wounded Knee, S.D.
He is survived by his parents, Norman Sr. and Evelyn Brave Haney, McLoud; three daughters, Mignon Marie Hill and Mikala Lakota Haney, both of Yukon, Lanae Lakota Haney, Dewey; brother and sister-in-law, Michael S. and Cheri Haney, Glenpool; sisters and brothers-in-law, Janet and the Rev. Timothy Byington, Dewey, Muriel and David Wakolee, Shawnee; four grandchildren; his uncle and godfather, Judson P. Brave, Tulsa; aunts, Francis Meshquennock, Shawnee; Margaret Whitewater, Oklahoma City, and many others.
Philip Kent Land
Philip Kent Land died Saturday at the age of 42.
He was born June 19, 1956, at Lake Charles Air Force Base in Louisiana to Delorese and Bobby G. Land.
He graduated from Altus High School in 1973 and from Oklahoma State University in 1978.
He is survived by his parents; his wife, Donna Gayle; son, Tyler Don; daughters and sons-in-law, Suzette and Nick Hopkins, Dupont, Wash., and Michelle and Tommy Conner, Tecumseh; grandchildren, Page Brooklyn, Dupont, Wash., and Dillon James Conner, Tecumseh; brother, Bobby G. Land, Oklahoma City; grandmother, Cora McClure, Lake Charles, La.; and many other relatives.
Memorial service will be 6 p.m. Thursday at First Baptist Church, Tecumseh. Memorial donations may be made to Philip K. Land Memorial Fund, BancFirst, Tecumseh OK 74873.
Linda Sue Abney
Linda Sue Abney, Shawnee, died Monday in an Oklahoma City hospital. She was 46.
Mrs. Abney was born Aug. 2, 1953, in Shawnee, the daughter of William Bernard DeLonais Jr. and Anna (Gaul) DeLonais.
She was a 1971 graduate of Tecumseh High School.
She married John Abney on Sept. 20, 1971, in Shawnee.
Mrs. Abney worked for Wal-Mart for approximately 20 years, and was a member of Temple Baptist Church.
She was a lifelong Shawnee resident.
She was preceded in death by her parents, William Jr. and Anna DeLonais; and a brother, Robbie DeLonais.
Survivors include her husband, John Abney, of the home; two sons and a daughter-in-law, Johnny Jr. and Danielle Abney, Shawnee; Jeremy Abney, Shawnee; four sisters and three brothers-in-law, Rita and Robert Collins, Thekla "Becky" and Jeff Morris, Alita Keener, Tina and Tim Seawright, all of Shawnee; two grandsons, Devin and Drew Abney, Shawnee; and several aunts and uncles; and numerous nieces, nephews and friends.
Memorials may be made to the Baylor Institute of Transplantation Services, Baylor University Medical Center, 3500 Gaston Ave., Dallas, TX 75246.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday, at Resthaven Funeral Home, with the Rev. Mike Craig officiating.
Burial will be in Resthaven Memorial Park.
Sam Green
Sam Green of Nicoma Park died Sunday as the result of a heart attack. He was 53.
He was born Nov. 2, 1946, in Trona, Calif., to Samuel and Dorothy (Welch) Green.
He attended Bethel Seminar in McKenxie, Tenn., and graduated from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. He worked in the automobile industry, in particular, in management and sales for 25 years.
He served as a city councilman for Nicoma Park and was a member of NADA Legion of Leaders. He also was on the Oklahoma Board of Reality at Miami, Okla., and the Society of Sales Professionals. He became a donor for the Oklahoma Lions Eye Bank.
Survivors include his wife, Alyce, of the home; son and daughter-in-law, Bill and Brenda Johnson, Harrah; daughter and son-in-law, Mimi and Mike DeRonda, Nicoma Park; three grandchildren, Michael DeRonda, Michase DeRonda and Sarah Johnson; one great-granddaughter, Nicole Ann; and many loving friends.
Services will be 1 p.m. Wednesday at First Christian Church in Nicoma Park. Burial will be in I.O.O.F. Cemetery in Jones.
Memorials may be made to the Jesus House or City Rescue Mission.
Theresa L. Shahan
Shawnee resident Theresa L. Shahan died Tuesday in a local hospital. She was 91.
Mrs. Shahan was born on April 19, 1908, in Dale, to William M. and Mary C. (Newman) Cross.
She married James "Jack" Shahan on Nov. 28, 1925, in Shawnee.
Mrs. Shahan was a member of Hazel Dell Baptist Church, and lived in and around Shawnee most of her life.
She was preceded in death by her husband, James Shahan on Jan. 8, 1966; a son; a daughter; her parents, William and Mary Cross; and a sister.
Survivors include her three sons, Charles R. Shahan, Perry; Robert J. Shahan, Sunset, La.; James C. Shahan, Shawnee; three daughters, Ruth McGraw, Moore; Sue Batt, Tishomingo; Alice Coley, Shawnee; a sister, Lavada Fowler, Shawnee; 17 grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; and a number of nieces, nephews and cousins.
Graveside services
will be 2 p.m. Thursday, in Fairview Cemetery, with the Rev. Bill Matthews and Phil Thompson officiating.
Services are under the direction of Gaskill-Owens Funeral Chapel.
Albert J. Straka
Shawnee resident Albert J. Straka died Sunday in Shawnee. He was 70.
He was born Sept. 25, 1929, in Oklahoma City to Frederick J. and Marguerite Lovie (Schritter) Straka.
He was raised in Oklahoma City and graduated from Capitol Hill High School. He attended Oklahoma State University for three and a half years. He moved to Macomb shortly after college and later moved to Shawnee, where he resided for more than 40 years.
He worked for S&S Feed in Shawnee until his retirement in 1994. He served many years on the board of the Pottawatomie County Farm Bureau and the Pottawatomie County Fair Board. He volunteered with the county FFA and 4-H.
Straka was preceded in death by his parents; two uncles, Richard Smith and Emil Straka; and one aunt, Juanita Novosad.
Survivors include his aunts, Dorothy Smith, Edmond, and Vernetta Straka, Oklahoma City; uncle, Edward Novosad, Oklahoma City; and many cousins and friends.
Services will be noon today at Cooper Funeral Home in Tecumseh with the Rev. Will Bentley of Broadway United Methodist Church, Tecumseh, officiating. Burial will be in Czech Cemetery, Oklahoma City, under the direction of Cooper Funeral Home, Tecumseh.
Vernon F. Farris
Shawnee resident Vernon F. Farris died Monday at a local hospital. He was 77.
He was born Aug. 29, 1922, in Shawnee to James and Bonnie Farris. He married Willie Jean Cole Oct. 10, 1946, in Bethel. She preceded him in death July 10, 1995.
He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He retired from Tinker Air Force Base Aug. 31, 1974.
Farris also was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Kennard Farris; and grandchild, Travis Taylor.
Survivors include his daughters and sons-in-law, Sheila and Dean McBride, Olathe, Kan., Theresa and Robert Taylor, Oklahoma City; Vernette and DeLloyd Brown, Shawnee; Leadra and Cliff Wood, Edmond; son, David Farris, Shawnee; sister, Grace Oldham, Shawnee; brother, Leonard Farris, Shawnee; 10 grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.
Services will be 2 p.m. Thursday at Roesch-Walker Funeral Chapel with the Rev. Bob Birdwell officiating. Burial will be in Hopewell Cemetery.
