Wynema
(Ward) Butler Francis was born December 12, 1929, to Ed & Ocie Ward in their
home in Polk Creek Community, Poteau, OK.
Her kind and loving spirit returned to the Lord peacefully on Monday,
April 20, 2020 in Spiro, OK.
Wynema was a quiet little tow-headed
girl who often spent time with her maternal grandparents, Julius & Martha
Waddle, also of Polk Creek. She attended
Tarby School 1-8th grades, where she excelled in school work and at
basketball, a sport she loved.
She worked at a laundry in Poteau
after finishing the 9th grade.
At 17, she married Billy V. Butler, 21 of Gilmore, OK. During the WWII era, they often enjoyed
listening and dancing to the big country-western bands that traveled to the
Poteau area. She said she taught Billy
to dance and he taught her to cook. In
those days, she said she would rather dance than eat.
Wynema and Billy had four children,
who all survive her: Floyd & wife Susie, Kathlyn Butler Moran, David &
wife Jane, Lisa Butler & Dennis
Covey, all of Oklahoma. Blessed with
five living generations of family, she also had 11 grandchildren and numerous
great and great great grandchildren.
Granddaughter Michele Furr Ashing, 45, passed away in 2015, three years
after Billy died at age 86.
Wynema and second husband, Velmer
Francis, lived in Shady Point, OK for many years. She was a child care worker for the State and
a homemaker. He was a concrete
contractor and avid vegetable gardener.
They had a daughter, Sheila (Francis) Bledsoe Taylor and two
granddaughters, Kaytlin (Bledsoe) Fout &
husband Josh, and Rexleigh
Taylor; one great grandson, Riley and great granddaughter, Harper. Velmer, 68, died in 1989 and daughter Sheila,
48, passed away in 2018.
Wynema was also preceded in death by
her parents; five siblings, Carl & “Sonny” Ward, Lula McLaughlin, Linda
Armstrong & Oma Lee Reynolds, stepson, Ricky Francis and stepgrandson, Mike
Francis, and many other beloved family members and friends.
She is survived by her aforementioned
children; stepchildren, Carol Brasher and Gary Lee Francis of Arkansas, and sister, Betty Campbell and husband Gary of
Missouri, and other relatives & friends.
Wynema loved little children; hers was
the home where all the neighborhood children gathered to catch the school bus
every morning. She was a quiet and
gentle woman, always willing to listen
to others’ problems, but never interfering in their private lives. She passed into the arms of the Lord quietly
and gently, just as she had lived. She
will be sorely missed by so many.
Graveside services with Pastor Phil
McGehee officiating were held at 2 pm, Thursday, April 23, 2020 at Fairhill
Cemetery, Cameron, OK. Pallbearers were
her grandsons Michael Furr, David Butler, Ricky Butler, Jerry Butler, Daniel
Butler, David Loyd Butler Jr., Jason Priest and great-grandson Joe Adams. Following the services, granddaughter Carolyn
Butler Baldwin and husband Heath, hosted a cook-out at their Shady Point home.
James
R. “Snoball” Womack, 87, of Keota, OK entered into rest Thursday, April 23,
2020. He was born November 15, 1932 in
Midland, AR to Lewis A. & Mildred (Jett) Womack. James graduated from Cameron High School in
1953. While there he excelled in
basketball and baseball. After
graduation he went to Pontiac, MI where he met and married Sally L. Smith on
April 23, 1955. They moved to Perry, OK
and he worked for the Oklahoma State Department of Transportation for 26
years. Upon retirement they moved to
Keota, OK. James was preceded in death by his parents and sister, Wanda Fultz.
