Barbara Mills

Barbara Joe Mills was born June 26, 1944 in Coyle, Oklahoma. She was the daughter of William Mansel ìBillî and Mary Lee (Trotter) Sanders. Barbara later moved to Cushing with her family where she graduated from Cushing High School in 1962. Upon graduation from high school, Barbara attended Blackwell Nursing College where she obtained her certification as a Licensed Practical Nurse. Barbara then began a forty-five year career in nursing which included assisting in the office of Dr. Jimmy Martin in Cushing for over twenty years, the Cushing Regional Hospital, Valley Hope Association in Cushing, Cleveland Area Hospital and the Cleveland Manor Nursing Home. In 1990, Barbara accepted employment with the State of Oklahoma at the Dick Connor Correctional Center as a nurse for nearly eighteen years, retiring in July of 2008. Barbara was married to G. W. Mills on September 23, 1968 in Cushing, Oklahoma. The couple made their initial home in Cushing and resided there until moving to Cleveland in the late 1980ís, raising their three children Jason, Debra and Dolores ìDeeî. Barbara was a member of the Church of the Brethren in Cushing, Oklahoma. Barbara was described by her family as a loving wife, mother and grandmother that maintained an immaculate home; always keeping everything in order. She enjoyed flowers, visiting and collecting rocks. It was said that Barbara never found a rock that she didnít want to pick up. Barbara passed away on Saturday, January 3, 2009 at the St. John Medical Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the age of sixty-four. She was preceded in death by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Sanders; a brother, Billy Lee Sanders; and two nephews, Billy Sanders and Steve Sanders. Survivors include her husband, G. W. Mills of the home, three children, Jason Lee Mills of Helena, Oklahoma, Debra Kay White and her husband Allen of Owasso, Oklahoma, Dolores "Dee" Lynn Webb of Truckee, California; one brother, Fred Clinton Sanders of Topeka, Kansas; one sister Beverly Ann Pickle of Cushing, Oklahoma, three grandchildren Lauren Olivia Webb, Christopher Allen and Taylor Nichole White. Church Services will be held 2:00 pm Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at Western Heights Baptist Church with Rev. David Head officiating. Burial will be at the Woodland Cemetery in Cleveland under the direction of the Chapman-Black Funeral Home. Serving as pallbearers will be Jeff Pickle, Tim Pickle, Preston Lay, Jr., J.R. Weaver, Jim Dillard and Preston Lay. Honorary pallbearers are Johnny Pruitt and Jim Hogreff.