ENID — Born Susan Jane (Janey) Elswick in Oklahoma City, Okla., on Feb.
22, 1948, and died Susan Jane Sparks in Tulsa, Okla., on Tuesday, June 11,
2013.
She is survived by her husband, Glen L. Sparks of Tulsa, Okla.; her oldest
son, Matthew Glen Sparks (Rev. Matt Sparks) of San Diego; her second son,
Jason Lee Sparks (Lt. Comdr U.S. Navy Jason Sparks) of Okinawa; and her
daughter, Julie Ann Barnes of Tulsa, Okla. She also is survived by her
mother, Rosalee Inez Elswick of Tulsa, Okla., and her brother, James Delos
Elswick (Jim Elswick) of Houston, Texas.
Janey Elswick was born in Oklahoma City in 1948, where she attended
Buchannan Grade School and later Putman City Junior High and High School.
Janey attended Oklahoma State University starting in September 1966, until
January 1968, before going to work for City Service Gas and Cryogenics in
Oklahoma City.
Janey grew up as a member of Portland Avenue Baptist Church in Oklahoma
City, where her family were long-time members. She knew her future husband
from the time they were in the crib at Portland Avenue Baptist church, where
they both grew up.
She married Glen L. Sparks Jan. 18, 1969, and she became Susan Jane (Janey)
Sparks.
She moved to Stillwater for her husband to finish his degree at OSU, where
she went to work for the OSU Veterinary Medicine Research Department until
her husband graduated from OSU.
She moved to Oklahoma City with her husband Glen and her two small boys
Matthew and baby Jason in 1973. She lived in Oklahoma City until 1978,
during which time her daughter, Julie, was born.
In 1978, she took her two small boys and her six-month-old daughter to live
with her husband in Bethioua, Algeria. After two years in Algeria, she
return with her family to Oklahoma City from 1980 to 1984, when she moved to
Pinedale, Wyo., with her husband and family when her husband was assigned to
work there.
In 1985, she moved to Maryville, Tenn., where her husband was assigned. She
lived there for the next 12 years in Maryville, Tenn., where her two boys
and daughter graduated from high school.
During this time she started working in a medical clinic office, where she
worked her way up to office manager. In 1997, she moved back to Tulsa,
Okla., when her husband took a position with a Tulsa based firm and it
allowed her to be closer to family. She again took a position in a medical
office going to work for Utica Psychiatric Services in Tulsa, Okla. She
later left the medical office to take care of her parents, when her father
became terminally ill and she moved them from Edmond, Okla., to Tulsa,
Okla., in 2005.
In October 2011, she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She started
treatments in November 2011 and in February 2012, moved to the Cancer
Treatments Centers of America in Tulsa, Okla. During this time she continued
to take care of her mother. She entered the Cancer Treatment Center’s
hospital on Saturday June 8, 2013, with complication and passed away on the
morning of June 11, 2013.
She left a husband, three children and their spouses and eight
grandchildren, with another on the way. With her compassionate heart, she
left a lasting impression on everyone she came in contact with, both young
and old, and will be greatly missed.
Family will receive friends from 4-6 p.m. Sunday, June 16, 2013, at Matthews
Funeral Home, Edmond, Okla. Service will be 11 a.m. Monday, June 17, 2013,
at Matthews Funeral Home Chapel, Edmond, with interment in Kingfisher
Cemetery at 3 p.m.
(Submitted by family)
Susan Jane "Janey"(Elswick)
Sparks
Feb 22,1948 - Jun 11, 2013
Submitted by: Ann Weber
