Clara Ellen Grove's Obituary
Clara Ellen (Wickett) Grove was born June 1, 1934, in Marble City, Oklahoma to William Lafayette Wickett and Hazel Beatrice Wickett. She was the youngest of two children and is preceded in death by her parents, her brother Bill and her husband of 53 years Bill Grove. It takes a special person to be a coach's wife. She created an atmosphere where everyone was welcomed. Family, friends, players, it didn't matter as they were all family to her. She graduated from East Central High School in 1950 where she was actively involved in social clubs and excelled in basketball. She attended Northeastern State University, where she was a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority. In 1955 she began her teaching career in Tulsa. It was then that she met the love of her life, Bill Grove in Tulsa, where they were both working for Tulsa Public Schools and they married in July of 1957. Bill was an avid baseball fan and wanted to take Clara to see the Saint Louis Cardinals. She stated that she wouldn't go with him unless they were married and as they say the rest was history. In 1964, the Grove family moved to Del City where Clara taught fifth grade at Townsend Elementary for many years. She moved from Townsend to teach fifth grade at Tinker Elementary on Tinker Air Force Base. She always said teaching geography to air force kids that had seen the world was very educational for her. In 1975, the Grove family returned to Tulsa where Clara taught third grade at Briarglen Elementary in Union Public Schools where she remained until her retirement. She loved her OU Sooners, Baker Mayfield, and her Union Redskins where she and Bill were original season ticket holders. In 2014, she became an avid TU Golden Hurricane football fan when her grandson Nathan joined the team. She became a fixture at all the TU games and was known as the OG among Nathan's teammates. At first, she was offended as she thought OG meant Old Grandma but soon realized it was a term of endearment. She was a passionate bridge player (at one time was in seven separate clubs) and could often be found after a round of bridge at PJ's having a glass of wine and "Grannie’s Tacos" named in her honor. For the last five years she has been a resident at Stonehaven Assisted Living where she made numerous friends and enjoyed happy hour, dominoes and giving the staff a hard time with her quick wit and sense of humor. The family is grateful to all the staff at Stonehaven for taking such great care of her. Clara was passionate about her family and the shining light was her grandchildren, Amanda and Nathan for which the sun rose and set. She had the opportunity to see Nathan and his wife Haley welcome her great-grandson Brody to the family in 2023. She will be greatly missed by her two daughters and their husbands, Paula and Patrick Kuykendall, Patty and Lawrence Walker, and her grandchildren and great-grandchild the yellow roses of Texas, Amanda, Nathan, Haley and Brody. We love you Mom and will miss you every day. There will be a family visitation on Thursday, March 20, 2025, from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm, at Floral Haven Funeral Home, 6500 S. 129th East Ave, Broken Arrow, OK. Services will be held at Floral Haven Chapel on Friday, March 21, 2025, at 12:30 pm. Interment will be at Floral Haven Cemetery following the services and a reception will follow at the Floral Haven Family Center after a short graveside service. All friends of the family are invited to attend. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Clara Grove to the Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma (https://www.gseok.org).
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