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Roberta Thomas © Enid News and Eagle 11-10-2022 Submitted by: Jo Aguirre
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Roberta Thomas
May 24, 1928 - November 7, 2022
A Celebration of Life service for Roberta Thomas will be held 2:00 p.m. Saturday, November 26, 2022, at Aline Christian Church, Aline, OK. Following the service, the family will gather in the youth center to reminisce with family and friends. She will be laid to rest in a private ceremony with family at the Aline Star Cemetery, where she will be buried next to her husband and son. Cremation arrangements and services are under the direction of Ladusau-Evans Funeral Home.
Roberta Elaine Thomas was born May 24, 1928, in Bartlesville, OK, the fifth of seven children born to Burr and Marguerite (Dunlap) Reynolds, and she died on November 7, 2022, in Oklahoma City, OK.
She graduated from Bartlesville College High School in 1946 and then attended two years of college at Oklahoma A&M in Stillwater, OK. It was there she met that handsome, blue-eyed young man, Ivan Dean Thomas, of Aline, OK. They married on February 27, 1949, in Bartlesville, OK, at the First Presbyterian Church and made their home on the farm in Aline that Dean's Grandad Runyan staked in the Cherokee Strip Land Run of 1893.
Roberta was a city girl, and moving to the farm in Aline was quite a change, but with the help of Dean's parents, Mom Ellen and Dad Cy, she soon learned the ways of farm life, except for milking cows, which was not her calling. She always said she wanted to have four children, close together, and she did: Janice Marie, Phyllis Jean, Darrel Wayne and Cheryl Lynn came along just as ordered. But then eleven years after Cheryl, the family got a bonus when Lori Ann was born.
In addition to managing her busy home, Roberta was active in the Aline Christian Church, where she served and held offices in CWF, sang in the choir, was Sunday School Superintendent, youth sponsor, served as Deacon and later as Elder, and served on the Church Board. One of her greatest joys in life was singing, and particularly singing in a quartet with her husband Dean and good friends Wanda Sims and Elvin Otti. So much fun and beautiful music came from this group, led by Norma Jean Wharton on the piano.
Dean and Roberta did custom harvesting in the summer, cutting wheat from Oklahoma to just inside the Canadian border. Roberta cooked many delicious harvest meals over those many years. Through her life, she enjoyed sewing, square dancing, and bowling, but in her later years she most enjoyed sitting at her dining room table watching the birds through the patio doors and drinking coffee with her dear neighbors. She loved the Aline Fair where she had served as Grand Marshall. The exhibit building was her favorite, and she enjoyed setting up a booth to honor the Busy Bee Club and competing in horseshoes. Roberta enjoyed watching all kinds of sports but especially the Thunder and her beloved OSU Cowboys.
Roberta was active in Chamber of Commerce, Busy Bee Club, a member of PEO Chapter AZ at Cherokee and all the activities of her kids while they were in school. She owned and operated a Beauty Shop called Roberta's Chat and Curl for thirteen years. For several years she worked with her best friends Wanda Sims and Martha Thomas in a company they called TS&T Finishers. They refinished furniture and other woodwork and painted homes for businesses and people in the community.
She was initiated in the Order of the Eastern Star in Aline #265 in 1949 and later was a member of both the Cherokee Chapter #174 and Alva Chapter #97. She received her 70-year pin in 2019. Roberta sang in a quartet with Vern Hydman, Theobelle Collins and Herb Niles, with Inez Judd playing piano. In addition to Worthy Matron and other local offices, she was designated District Deputy three times, Grand Marshall in 1996 with the "Nite Owls", and Grand Representative of Oregon and Alabama.
Roberta was blessed with a rich life filled with family, love, and lots of hugs. There was truly nothing more important to her than family, and she looked forward to any time we could all be together. Sometimes the reality of all of us was a lot to take with so much laughter and a little horseplay (only outside of course). At the end of the day, when we would start to settle down, someone would start singing and soon we would all be harmonizing. She looked forward to this every time.
She is survived by four daughters, Janice Richter (David) of Ponca City, OK, Phyllis Hilterbran (Steve) of Edmond, OK, Cheryl Matthews (James) of Hampton Cove, AL, Lori McMillin (Wayne) of Ada, OK, and one daughter-in-law, Lynne Darrah (Bo) of Wichita, KS; ten grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren: Tara Nash (Russell) and children Ethan, Thomas and Ellen of Austin, TX; Jeremy Richter (Tracy) and children Dawson, MaKinsey, and Gracelyn of Glenmoore, PA; Sydney Saeed (Ahmed) and son Aaron Hoover of Oklahoma City, OK; Ryan Hilterbran (Megan) and children Evely and Brya of Los Angeles, CA; Kyle Hilterbran (Michelle) and children Kylee and Kase of Watonga, OK; Charlotte Thomas-Davison and son Silas of Warwick, RI; Eric Matthews (Catherine) and children Emma, Wesley, and Colin of Charlotte, NC; Allison Murray (Shane) and children William and Caroline of Savannah, GA; Meghan Mahan (Saxon) and children Knox and Lennon of Dallas, TX; and Keegan McMillin of Dallas, TX; and one sister, Lina S. Reynolds of Oklahoma City, OK.
Roberta is preceded in death by her parents, Burr and Marguerite Reynolds; husband, Ivan Dean; her son, Darrel; three sisters, Louise Reynolds, Helen Fitch, and Lucy Murray; two brothers, Burr Dunlap Reynolds, and James Reynolds. And it all happened heading West.
Memorial donations may be made to the Aline Christian Church, with Ladusau-Evans serving as custodian of the funds.
Condolences to the family may be made at ladusauevans.com.
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