Iva Jean (Stamper) Raymon
Jul 15, 1925 - Mar 27, 2017
Posted by Ann Weber

BARTLESVILLE EXAMINER-ENTERPRISE
BARTLESVILLE, WASHINGTON CO, OK
(permission granted)

She was born in Madisonville, TN to Annie Belle (Sneed) and Vachel Young on July 15, 1925. She attended school in Murphy, NC.

Services will be held at 11:00 AM, Friday, March 31, 2017 at the Walker-Brown Funeral Home, at 4201 E. Nowata Road, Bartlesville, OK, with Pastor Cathy Cole (First United Methodist Church, Sedan KS) officiating. Burial will be at the Dewey Cemetery, north of Dewey, OK.

Friends may call at the Walker-Brown Funeral Home, from 9 AM to 9 PM on Thursday. Family will be present to greet friends from 6 PM to 8 PM, on Thursday.

Iva Jean met and married Roy Stamper in 1941. To this union Roy brought 3 sons; Harold Robert, Richard Lee, and Jack Arnold. Roy's first wife Nellie (McCash) Stamper had died of pneumonia earlier in Murphy, NC. Roy was employed as a "tunnel man" for the Tennessee Valley Authority, drilling tunnels to support the construction and operation of hydroelectric dams near Hiwassee, NC and Fontana, TN. Shortly, after their marriage, Roy's work took them to a dam site in Utah, and then for a brief period to work at the Octavia Mine in Congress, AZ, as a gold miner.

During World War II, Roy and his twin brother, Rob, supported the war effort by making tires for B.F. Goodrich, in Barberton, OH. Following the war, the family moved to Bentonville, AR, where they purchased, built and operated a farm. Roy continued to do construction and plumbing work in Tulsa and Bartlesville. During their time in Bentonville, 5 children were added to the roster. Those 5, with 1 added in Barberton OH, 1 added in Murphy, NC, and the original 3 brought the total to 10.
The family sold the farm and moved to Bartlesville, OK in 1956, where they operated a plumbing business until 1972, when Roy retired due to ill health. Roy preceded Iva Jean in death in 1976.
Iva Jean met and married Garold "Red" Raymon in Sedan, Kansas in 1979. At the time of their marriage, Garold had 7 children. Iva Jean and Garold enjoyed 25 years of marriage, until his death in 2004.
In recent years, whenever someone asked Iva Jean would ask how many children she had, she would simply give them the total; "17", without any of the explanation of or details as to how she came to that number. Usually, that number was enough to bring that part of the inquiry and conversation to a close.
Iva Jean would live in home that she had shared with Garold, in Sedan, KS until 2014, when her health began to fail. During her 35 year residence in Sedan, she became an avid and accomplished gardener. She was active in and supportive of the First United Methodist Church.
Family gatherings during the years of Stampers, and later the Stampers and the Raymons were a particular delight to Iva Jean. These gatherings were as liberally inclusive of family, guests, friends, friends of friends, and acquaintances as Iva Jean was in getting to her total of "17".
Beyond this, Iva Jean was a very positive, intelligent force in the lives of people that were fortunate enough to be in her family or in her "family of friends".

Iva Jean was preceded in death by husbands Roy Stamper, and Garold Raymon, and a sister Virginia Edwards. She was also preceded in death by sons, Harold Robert Stamper, and Jack Arnold Stamper, and daughters Carol Roy Jean (Stamper) Bennitt, Raylene Raymon, and Cindy Raymon.

Survivors include sons, Richard Stamper, Gary Stamper, Gerald Stamper, and James Stamper (all of Tulsa), Ken Stamper, Norman, OK, Jim Raymon, Witchita, and Jeff Raymon, Mulvane, KS. Surviving daughters include, Linda (Stamper) Blevins, Bartlesville, Dana (Stamper) Smith, Bartlesville, and Diana (Raymon) Budig, Grand Junction, CO. Survivors also include, many grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great, great grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests you consider a contribution to the First United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 276, Sedan, KS 67361.

Online condolences for the family can be made at www.walkerbrownfuneralhome.com. Walker-Brown Funeral Home
4201 Southeast Nowata Road
Bartlesville, OK 74006
918-333-7665

Published in Examiner-Enterprise from Mar. 30 to Apr. 29, 2017