Etta Mae Sanders Stuard
Etta Mae Sanders Stuard went to meet her heavenly Father on Friday, April 27, 2018. After 85 years, heaven welcomed one of the most kind, loving and sweetest ladies. A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, May 2, at 11 a.m. at Eastern Heights Christian Church. The service is under the direction of Trout Funeral Home and Crematory.
Etta Mae was born in Tekamah, Neb. on May 7, 1932, to the late Truman and Esteve Sanders. The Sanders family moved to Kaw City in 1946 and later to Ponca City. She graduated in the class of 1950 from Ponca City High School. She met her husband Donald Stuard while living in Kaw City. They were married on June 25, 1950, at Liberty Baptist Church. They spent 62 years of married life in Ponca City.
She worked for Mid Creamery for 15 years and later retired from Mertz Incorporated after 25 years of employment. Family and friends were a big part of her life. A favorite location for family fun was a lake home at Table Rock Lake in Missouri. She took pride in preparing her home for guests and was known to have her house spotless at all times. Etta believed that a clean house made for a comfortable guest. She is a past officer of the Ponca City Square Dance Club Association. Dancing with her husband Don during square dance nights was considered the best part of her life.
She was a member of Eastern Heights Christian Church where she demonstrated her service for the Lord. She enjoyed attending Bible study with her friends and learning about kindness and grace. To her family she was a caring and loving wife, mother, sister, grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother. She was a strong woman that ensured others’ needs were being met. She was most definitely the matriarch of the family and her loss is a large one. She instilled a strong legacy in those left behind and her memory will be survived by numerous moments of joy and laughter.
Etta Mae was preceded in death by her husband, Donald E. Stuard; her parents, Truman and Esteve Sanders; sister, Betty Lou Fultz and brother-in-law Frank Botkin. She is survived by a sister, Juanita Botkin, of Wichita, Kan. and brother, Douglas Sanders and wife Charlotte Sanders, of Huntsville, Texas. She has two daughters, Carolyn Stuard, of Ponca City and Dianna Bjornsson, of Broken Arrow. She has two grandchildren, Michelle Campbell, of Broken Arrow and Dr. Travis Campbell and wife Mindie Campbell, of Broken Arrow. Surviving legacy includes four great-grandchildren, Tyler Smith and wife Corrina Smith, Claire Campbell, Graham Campbell and Bennett Campbell; as well as one great-great-grandson, Mason Smith.
Etta Mae, your family is forever enriched by your life and we are so thankful to have our memories of you live in our hearts. Though we mourn your loss now, we are quickly rejuvenated by remembering your exuberance for life.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Eastern Heights Christian Church, 5100 Lake Road, Ponca City, OK 74604.
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