Teresa Suzanne Norvell's Obituary
Teresa Suzanne (Neel) Norvell was born on February 18, 1949, the first child of LC and Ellen (McFarland) Neel and her mother’s favorite. Twenty-two months later, she was joined by her sister and life long best friend Patricia Ellen. Teresa inherited the fair skin and green eyes of her mother’s Scottish-Irish side of the family but learned the hard way that she was not intended to be a ginger. She was also proud of her Cherokee roots.
The family attended Parkland Baptist Church, where the sisters were frequently escorted from the service and spanked for their inability to sit still and not burst into laughter. They also attended the Tulsa State Fair every year and ate corndogs til they were sick. Teresa started kindergarten at Celia Clinton Elementary, beginning her lifelong tie to public education. When Teresa was six, Marquitta (now Jackson) was born. They moved to Collinsville where, in addition to attending grade school in which she and Patricia were part of the band, they also performed a duet of “The Old Rugged Cross” for the First Baptist Church. It was there that their mother taught them to always put perfume on their upper lip in the unairconditioned church in case they sat by a person with poor hygiene. More than one member must have wondered why they had duck faces every summer. One favorite activity was seeing how high they could bounce Marquitta jumping on the bed. It was also on the Collinsville farm that they ate squirrel shot by their dad, considering it normal. Teresa played the piano and had a beautiful alto voice.
The family returned to Tulsa and Celia Clinton. LC’s building business brought about many moves, sending Teresa to Whitney and then Nimitz Jr. High, where she met lifelong friends Anne Walton Hewgley, Judy Calhoun Skaistis and Linda Givens Ortega. Patricia was often part of the group as they trolled the Restless Ribbon between Weber’s and Pennington’s and their other favorite haunts in Teresa’s Impala Super Sport, a sixteenth birthday gift. She and Patricia joined the same high school sorority. Teresa graduated from Memorial High School in 1967 and attended OSU, where she pledged Zeta Tau Alpha. Patricia joined her at both the next year. Daughter Kelly also is an OSU Zeta alum. Marquitta was initiated in a special ceremony conducted by alum and former Zeta President, Patricia. Teresa was an avid Cowboy fan and proudly wore orange if she was not wearing her favorite color, pink.
Teresa married George Phillip Norvell in May, 1969 and was known for dancing on the table to Phil’s popular band, the Marble Frog. She matriculated with a degree in Education, later earning her Master’s Degree from TU. She began her teaching career at Bixby High School but took a hiatus at the birth of her daughter and the light of her life, Kelly Suzanne, on June 17, 1977. When Teresa was about 8 months pregnant with Kelly she had an emergency appendectomy. While still recovering, her water broke, so she called Marquitta, who had a three-month old son, and asked her what to do. Marquitta famously responded: "How should I know..? I’m not a plumber."
On Mother’s Day, 1978, she and Kelly were pictured on the front page of the Tulsa World. Teresa was always on call for her sisters and friends for diaper duty. She would show up when called and analyze the situation (color, consistency and contents) and dish out advice which was almost always on point. She loved babies and children, which contributed greatly to her students affection for her during her teaching career. She returned to teaching at Anderson and retired from Hale High School. She also taught at her alma mater, Memorial High School. She worked part time at the Med X in Utica Square.
Teresa moved to Texas to be near her daughter and grandchildren, Olivia and Nicholas, now in college. Although she worked part time as a substitute teacher, she most relished her role as a devoted mother and Grammie. She was cheerleader, chauffeur and chief chef. Mother Ellen could have been a professional chef and passed her love of cooking to her girls so it was hard to match her abilities in the kitchen. But even Ellen conceded that Teresa bested her in apple pies.
She had a lifelong love of literature. “Gone With the Wind” was her favorite book. Steve Suttle, a high school DJ friend, referred to her on the air as the green-eyed sister of the brown eyed girl when introducing the Van Morrisson song. Teresa collected Mayfest posters and loved PS Gordon and John Singer Sargent paintings. She loved interior decorating which blossomed when LC started building houses. The sisters would play house by drawing out floor plans in the dirt with sticks between trees and decorating with the linoleum, tile, flooring and other samples Ellen brought home to decorate the spec homes. Teresa always had a neat home in spite of inheriting the McFarland gene for hording. It took 5 clothing wardrobes for her move back to Tulsa. She had even more shoes. She had a sizeable collection of clever and generally snarky t shirts. One in particular read: “Go ahead Underestimate me-that’ll be fun”. She believed Charles Schultz fashioned Lucy directly from her. She also identified as Lucille Ball, never missing an episode of “I Love Lucy”.
Teresa returned to Tulsa in 2019 after suffering health issues to be close to Patricia and lived at Burgundy Place where she had many friends, especially Betty Calhoun, Judy’s mother. Teresa suffered a series of small strokes which caused memory loss/dementia but she remained ready and able to correct the grammar of anyone whose English was less than eloquent to the end. Covid shutdowns and the deaths of Betty and Judy were particularly hard on her. Yet, she remained outspoken and always punched the rooster. Teresa loved animals and was rarely without one or more pets. Over her lifetime, she tended to parakeets, and many cats and dogs in spite of her cats ruining her hardwood floors in her Tulsa home and her most horrible last dog, Simon, chewing up all her beautiful upholstered furniture. She even tamed an impossibly feral cat. Teresa rejoined the loving embrace of her parents, 10 years to the month of Ellen’s passing. They rejoice in the arms of Jesus Christ.
Teresa was preceded in death by her parents, LC and Ellen Neel. She is survived by daughter Kelly Moody, grandchildren Olivia and Nicolas; her sister Patricia Neel (Schaad Titus) and their children, Lara Neel (Dee Milroy), Lisa Neel (Matt Lewis) and Gina Manassero (Adam), grandchildren Elspeth, Harper and Kenzie; and sister Marquitta Jackson (Randy) and their children Benjamin Jackson and Emily Reed (Jimmy) and grandchild Alexander Neel Weisman. She is also survived by numerous relatives from the Neel and McFarland families.
The family is immensely grateful for the loving care of Dr. Dana Morrel, Dr. Elizabeth Cores, Dr. Komi Folly, Lynn Hersey and St. Francis Hospice. The family also recognizes the exemplary, loving care provided by Betty Hall, who has cared for family members since 2012, Jo Boatright, Jatawa (Buttons) Ruble, Ruby Martinez, Joselene Gutierrez, and Brandi Warrior.
A closed casket visitation and time of gathering will be held on Friday, October 20, 2023, from 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM, at Floral Haven Funeral Home: 6500 S 129th E Ave, Broken Arrow, OK 74012.
A graveside service will be held at 1:00 PM the following day, Saturday, October 21, 2023, at Hogan Cemetery in Locust Grove, OK, with Pastor James Lacey officiating. Teresa will be laid to rest close to her parents and generations of McFarland relatives. The family kindly extends an invitation to anyone wishing to attend the graveside service. Hogan Cemetery Address: 2555-2573 E 565 Rd, Locust Grove, OK 74352.
A memorial service to honor the life of Teresa will be held at 2:00 PM on Thursday, December 28, 2023 at First Presbyterian Church: 709 S Boston Ave, Tulsa, OK 74119. A reception will follow after the memorial service at Southern Hills Country Club: 2636 E 61st St, Tulsa, OK 74136.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the LC Neel Scholarship Fund, Tulsa State Fair Ringmasters, 4145 E. 21st, Tulsa, Ok 74114, The March of Dimes, any charity benefiting Dementia/Alzheimer’s research or the charity of your choice.
Arrangements entrusted to Floral Haven Funeral Home.
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