Patsy Ruth Pope's Obituary
Patsy Ruth Garner Pope (Pat) was born October 26, 1930 in Brownfield, Texas to H.G. Garner, a cotton farmer, and to Mabel Pollock Garner, a seamstress. The 2nd of 5 children, she is survived by brother Alton Garner, sisters Marcia Polsgrove and Carol Ann Stokes. Younger brother Jerry Garner died in 1972. After high school graduation, Pat worked as a sales clerk for Lathems’ Dept. Store in Brownfield. At age 19, she met Luthers Gayle Pope whose hometown was Rochester, Texas. After being stationed in Japan during WWII with the army, he returned to west Texas and was employed with Amerada Petroleum. Gayle and Pat were married June 11, 1950. They lived and started their family in Lubbock, Midland, Odessa, Texas, and 5 and half years in Dickinson, North Dakota before being transferred to Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1961. By this time, Pat and Gayle were parents to Pam, Mark, Karen, Teresa, and Tim. Lisa, Lori, Susan were born in Tulsa. The next 20 odd years were spent knee-deep in toys, school books and laundry, and ironing-lots of ironing. Along with school and church activities, Pat and Gayle were active supporters in the Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Little League, and Cheerleading. She were members of Memorial Drive Church of Christ and later Garnett Road Church of Christ. Family vacations were spent camping in Wyoming, New Mexico, and Arizona despite moaning from teenagers, the trips were fun and educational. In her spare time, Pat enjoyed classes in cake decorating, decoupage, furniture upholstery, and horticulture offered by the OSU Extension Center. They taught her children the basics of housekeeping, cooking, sewing, and ironing-lots of ironing! She and Gayle became owners of a small business which made demands on their family time; they made cherished friendships there. Pat mourned the loss of her father in 1979 and her mother in 1996. In 2000, Gayle suffered a stroke. Pat assisted in his rehabilitation and become more independent in the management and sale of their business. They took short trips to the lake, and to Texas for school and family reunions. Pat enjoyed the programs on PBS, especially “Downtown Abbey” and “Midsummer Murders.” She was hospitalized for injuries after a fall. Life had become a series of doctor visits and pharmacy refills. She slowly regained strength, and resumed driving. Meanwhile, Gayle was growing weaker. He was hospitalized and passed away in April 2013 at age 89. Pat was very fond of their primary care physician Dr. Steven Wiseman. She was exceptionally grateful to the church elder John Dickman for his guidance and prayers during her illness, and after the death of her beloved Gayle. Thoughout life’s ups and downs, Patsy Pope remained steadfast in her Christian beliefs. Like all of us, she probably had a secret dream for herself, but her greatest accomplishment was a home filled with love for her husband, her children, and her grandchildren. Her final days were mostly peaceful. She received excellent care and in the end, respect for her wishes. She was preceded in death by her by her father, her mother, brother Jerry Garner (1972), Walton Garner, her nephew Matt Cornett, and her niece Michelle Green. She is survived by her eight children Pamela Pope, Mark Pope, Karen Geiger (Terry), Teresa Pope, Timothy Pope, Lisa Pope, Lori Geister (Kevin), and Susan Smith (Dwaine), her nine grandchildren, seven great grandchildren, one great great grandchild, two sisters Marcia Polsgrove and Carol Ann Stokes (Wayne), one brother Alton Garner (Thalua), and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins. Visitation will be held at Floral Haven Funeral Home Chapel of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma from 12 pm to 8 pm on Friday, March 6, 2015. Services will be held at Floral Haven Funeral Home Chapel on Saturday, March 7, 2015 at 10:00 am.
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