Barbara Ann Joslin's Obituary
Barbara Ann (Smithee) Joslin. Our mom. Our Ma. Our biggest supporter and our most vocal cheerleader. Mom was born in Lenna, OK on Sunday, May 26, 1935, to Vona Juanita (Treat) Smithee and Albert Orn Smithee. She passed away on Sunday, July 16, 2023, and joined her parents, sister and husband in Heaven.
Mom came from humble and proud beginnings. Hard work, family and faith were the core values she learned with her siblings, Helen, Betty, Daphne, Jack and Johnny. Mom could talk for hours about her childhood. Actually, if you knew mom, she could talk for hours about anything.
Mom attended Will Rogers High School where she met her future husband—Ralph Wayland Joslin, Jr. The devout Roman Catholic and Southern Baptist began dating in 1951. But, from what we have been told, she was a rebel long before that.
Like any couple, mom and dad had their ups and downs. But they loved each other and were proud of each other’s personal accomplishments. They bragged about one another. Sometimes privately. Often publicly.
Mom and Dad were married on August 6, 1953. Just hours after their wedding, they loaded up the car and drove back to Rantoul, IL where dad was receiving Air Force training. Following his training, they moved to Altus, Oklahoma where Terri was born. Later, dad was stationed in Greenland and in Colorado Springs, CO, where Mark was born. After settling back in Tulsa, Bryan, Kenneth and James were born. Five children in eight years. Just think about that for a minute.
After dad was discharged from the Air Force, he enrolled in the Mechanical Engineering program at TU. They struggled. Life was hard, but their shared value in hard work helped immensely. Mom helped put her husband through engineering school while raising five children, holding “the baby” (James) in her arms in Dad’s graduation photo. A strong woman, indeed.
Once her children were in school, mom returned to banking, which she had begun while in high school. Her long banking career took her to Northside State Bank, Southeastern State Bank, Mercantile Bank and Woodland Bank, where she was an Assistant Vice-President upon her retirement from banking. Her banking career served her well. She kept an eagle’s eye on their finances and continued to balance her checkbook every month. To the penny! Dad once commented on the money mom spent on her children at Christmas. She promptly opened a Christmas Savings Club at the bank and made monthly deposits so she could spend what she wanted and not be questioned.
Mom had strong opinions. She also had strong beliefs and an enormous sense of justice. She was not afraid to speak her mind or share her opinion. Just read her Facebook page.
After Dad joined Toastmasters International in 1973, they spent many years attending speech contests and traveling all over the world for TI events. Mom sometimes complained about all the events they attended, but Toastmasters soon became her family too. She eventually became heavily involved and held many offices—the same offices dad had held. One of her proudest moments was being sworn in as the District Governor for Oklahoma.
Mom’s greatest joy was her family. Spending time with her children (chickees as she called us) and grandchildren on the holidays was very important to her. Celebrating our births was equally important. Even up to her death, she wanted us to gather each month to celebrate monthly birthdays. Nothing was more important to her than her family. Nothing.
Mom’s survivors include her son, Mark Stephen Joslin (Laurie) of Sand Springs; Terri Marie Joslin (Terrance Aziere) of Tulsa; Bryan David Joslin of Tulsa, OK, Kenneth Stuart Joslin (Mark Linholm) of Tulsa; James Wayland Joslin (Wendy) of Oklahoma City; grandchildren Chelsea Joslin (Goose) and Erin Joslin; great grand-children Austin, Skylar and Dylan. She is also survived by her sisters Helen Inbody and Betty Ross, brothers Jack Smithee and Johnny Smithee. She was preceded in death by her husband, Ralph, parents Albert and Vona and sister, Daphne. Finally, the one she often referred to as her best friend during the past few years: her sweet Shi Poo, Panda.
A celebration of Mom’s life will be held Friday, July 21, 2023, at 3:00 PM in Rose Chapel at Floral Haven Cemetery, in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.
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