Allie Mae Emmert Eppler finally rested from her labors on April 13, 2022 at age 99. She had worked most of her life, beginning at age 15 as a typist for one of the Military/Government offices in Orange, Texas.
Born in Wellington, Texas, the first girl after four boys, she moved often with the family as her father left farming to become a minister. She attended several different schools in Oklahoma and Texas. She was always a good student, loved school and began studying piano at age 5.
She graduated from Orange high school in 1940. She went to Bethany Penial College – now SNU- the following fall where she met Tom Eppler her first day in the registrar's office. Eighteen months later they married in Orange, Texas in a ceremony after Sunday night service of the Nazarene Church where her father was the minister.
They returned to Bethany for school, but Allie became pregnant and had to drop out. Tom, who was studying ministry, took a small Nazarene church in Britton Oklahoma on 95th and Western, so they moved there, and Tom commuted to the college. She delivered their son, and 22 months later delivered a daughter. She played the piano and sang and sewed and cooked and created a lovely home for them to live in as befitted a good minister's wife. She also worked outside the home and returned to college in September of 1951 intending to get her degree in Music. Four months later Tom died suddenly, and at 28 she became a single mother and sole support for her two young children, Ray 8, and Martha 6, and so, had to drop out of college once more and give up her dream. Over the next ten years, she bought and sold three homes, changed jobs a few times to better herself, including taking a year off at her father's request to go live with him when he was suddenly widowed and where he was serving a church in Tulsa, OK.
A year later, she moved back to Bethany with the kids, first working for a company at Wiley Post airport. After she had repeatedly rebuffed requests from her boss for a date, he trapped her in a supply closet, trying to kiss her. She managed to rather forcefully connect her knee with his groin. Walking out of the closet she picked up an empty banker's box, loaded it with her personal stuff and walked out.
A week later Allie went to work for Oklahoma State Senator Joe Bailey Cobb, Chairman of the ways and means committee. She met and married another minister and then went to work as a secretary to an attorney in Downtown Oklahoma City. Ten years later they were divorced.
In 1972, she relocated to San Jose, California and became a secretary at Lockheed Missiles and Space in Palo Alto, where she worked for nearly 20 years, rising to the position of Executive Secretary to the Vice-President of Engineering.
In 1999, she sold her California home and returned to Bethany, Oklahoma. Due to her rapidly failing sight, she entered assisted living in 2003 and, in 2015, went into care at Noble Health Care Center. Her family appreciates the care she received from the staff there, especially the daily aides who worked directly with her.
She was always beautiful, stylish, impeccably dressed, even in retirement dressing up every day as if she were going to work at Lockheed. She was smart and good with money and was one of the best bargain finders ever at Neiman Marcus and John A. Brown Department stores in OKC and Nordstroms in California. She shopped at the end of the season and put her bargains on lay-a-way to wear the next year.
As a single mom she kept a roof over our heads; a decent running car; food in our stomachs; kept us in school; clothes on our backs; shoes on our feet; and at least the main toys a kid was supposed to have like bikes, roller skates, the trending doll for Marty, a bebe gun, and dogs for Ray.
She continued to play the piano and sing all her life, even up until 2 years ago, delighting nursing home residents as "The blind Lady who could play the piano." She was resilient and determined with an acerbic sense of humor; she could be tough, but often extended surprising kindness to strangers. Her blindness plagued her, as visual appreciation for all things beautiful was her greatest joy in life. The rest of her health was nearly perfect. She had very little sickness, no surgery, and very little medication. She never complained about aches or pains, but she would complain bitterly about colors that didn't match or unattractive décor!
She was preceded in death by her husband, Tom Eppler; son, Thomas Ray Eppler; her parents, Joseph Samuel Emmert and Lela May Ratliff Emmert; her brothers and their wives, Edward and Stella Emmert, Harold and Opal Emmert, Louis and Velma Emmert, H.C. and June Emmert; and her sister, Mary Ruth Emmert Pickens and husband Earl Pickens.
She is survived by her daughter, Marty Newman; daughter-in-law, Carmen Eppler; brother, Sam Emmert and his wife Kathy Emmert; grandchildren, Angela Chandler and her husband Gary Chandler, Andrew Eppler and his wife Mila Eppler, D'Arbra Blankenship, and Sarah Eppler Janda and her husband Lance Janda; 7 great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Mother, Sister, Grandmother, Aunt, we bless you flying away on angel's wings, greeting your 5 other siblings, beloved Tom, son Ray, and parents. You are a powerful memory.
Graveside services Monday, April 18, 2022, 2:00 PM at Britton Cemetery, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Mercer-Adams Funeral Service)
Born in Wellington, Texas, the first girl after four boys, she moved often with the family as her father left farming to become a minister. She attended several different schools in Oklahoma and Texas. She was always a good student, loved school and began studying piano at age 5.
She graduated from Orange high school in 1940. She went to Bethany Penial College – now SNU- the following fall where she met Tom Eppler her first day in the registrar's office. Eighteen months later they married in Orange, Texas in a ceremony after Sunday night service of the Nazarene Church where her father was the minister.
They returned to Bethany for school, but Allie became pregnant and had to drop out. Tom, who was studying ministry, took a small Nazarene church in Britton Oklahoma on 95th and Western, so they moved there, and Tom commuted to the college. She delivered their son, and 22 months later delivered a daughter. She played the piano and sang and sewed and cooked and created a lovely home for them to live in as befitted a good minister's wife. She also worked outside the home and returned to college in September of 1951 intending to get her degree in Music. Four months later Tom died suddenly, and at 28 she became a single mother and sole support for her two young children, Ray 8, and Martha 6, and so, had to drop out of college once more and give up her dream. Over the next ten years, she bought and sold three homes, changed jobs a few times to better herself, including taking a year off at her father's request to go live with him when he was suddenly widowed and where he was serving a church in Tulsa, OK.
A year later, she moved back to Bethany with the kids, first working for a company at Wiley Post airport. After she had repeatedly rebuffed requests from her boss for a date, he trapped her in a supply closet, trying to kiss her. She managed to rather forcefully connect her knee with his groin. Walking out of the closet she picked up an empty banker's box, loaded it with her personal stuff and walked out.
A week later Allie went to work for Oklahoma State Senator Joe Bailey Cobb, Chairman of the ways and means committee. She met and married another minister and then went to work as a secretary to an attorney in Downtown Oklahoma City. Ten years later they were divorced.
In 1972, she relocated to San Jose, California and became a secretary at Lockheed Missiles and Space in Palo Alto, where she worked for nearly 20 years, rising to the position of Executive Secretary to the Vice-President of Engineering.
In 1999, she sold her California home and returned to Bethany, Oklahoma. Due to her rapidly failing sight, she entered assisted living in 2003 and, in 2015, went into care at Noble Health Care Center. Her family appreciates the care she received from the staff there, especially the daily aides who worked directly with her.
She was always beautiful, stylish, impeccably dressed, even in retirement dressing up every day as if she were going to work at Lockheed. She was smart and good with money and was one of the best bargain finders ever at Neiman Marcus and John A. Brown Department stores in OKC and Nordstroms in California. She shopped at the end of the season and put her bargains on lay-a-way to wear the next year.
As a single mom she kept a roof over our heads; a decent running car; food in our stomachs; kept us in school; clothes on our backs; shoes on our feet; and at least the main toys a kid was supposed to have like bikes, roller skates, the trending doll for Marty, a bebe gun, and dogs for Ray.
She continued to play the piano and sing all her life, even up until 2 years ago, delighting nursing home residents as "The blind Lady who could play the piano." She was resilient and determined with an acerbic sense of humor; she could be tough, but often extended surprising kindness to strangers. Her blindness plagued her, as visual appreciation for all things beautiful was her greatest joy in life. The rest of her health was nearly perfect. She had very little sickness, no surgery, and very little medication. She never complained about aches or pains, but she would complain bitterly about colors that didn't match or unattractive décor!
She was preceded in death by her husband, Tom Eppler; son, Thomas Ray Eppler; her parents, Joseph Samuel Emmert and Lela May Ratliff Emmert; her brothers and their wives, Edward and Stella Emmert, Harold and Opal Emmert, Louis and Velma Emmert, H.C. and June Emmert; and her sister, Mary Ruth Emmert Pickens and husband Earl Pickens.
She is survived by her daughter, Marty Newman; daughter-in-law, Carmen Eppler; brother, Sam Emmert and his wife Kathy Emmert; grandchildren, Angela Chandler and her husband Gary Chandler, Andrew Eppler and his wife Mila Eppler, D'Arbra Blankenship, and Sarah Eppler Janda and her husband Lance Janda; 7 great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Mother, Sister, Grandmother, Aunt, we bless you flying away on angel's wings, greeting your 5 other siblings, beloved Tom, son Ray, and parents. You are a powerful memory.
Graveside services Monday, April 18, 2022, 2:00 PM at Britton Cemetery, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Mercer-Adams Funeral Service)
Allie Mae Emmert Eppler finally rested from her labors on April 13, 2022 at age 99. She had worked most of her life, beginning at age 15 as a typist for one of the Military/Government offices in Orange, Texas.
Born in Wellington, Texas, the first girl after four boys, she moved often with the family as her father left farming to become a minister. She attended several different schools in Oklahoma and Texas. She was always a good student, loved school and began studying piano at age 5.
She graduated from Orange high school in 1940. She went to Bethany Penial College – now SNU- the following fall where she met Tom Eppler her first day in the registrar's office. Eighteen months later they married in Orange, Texas in a ceremony after Sunday night service of the Nazarene Church where her father was the minister.
They returned to Bethany for school, but Allie became pregnant and had to drop out. Tom, who was studying ministry, took a small Nazarene church in Britton Oklahoma on 95th and Western, so they moved there, and Tom commuted to the college. She delivered their son, and 22 months later delivered a daughter. She played the piano and sang and sewed and cooked and created a lovely home for them to live in as befitted a good minister's wife. She also worked outside the home and returned to college in September of 1951 intending to get her degree in Music. Four months later Tom died suddenly, and at 28 she became a single mother and sole support for her two young children, Ray 8, and Martha 6, and so, had to drop out of college once more and give up her dream. Over the next ten years, she bought and sold three homes, changed jobs a few times to better herself, including taking a year off at her father's request to go live with him when he was suddenly widowed and where he was serving a church in Tulsa, OK.
A year later, she moved back to Bethany with the kids, first working for a company at Wiley Post airport. After she had repeatedly rebuffed requests from her boss for a date, he trapped her in a supply closet, trying to kiss her. She managed to rather forcefully connect her knee with his groin. Walking out of the closet she picked up an empty banker's box, loaded it with her personal stuff and walked out.
A week later Allie went to work for Oklahoma State Senator Joe Bailey Cobb, Chairman of the ways and means committee. She met and married another minister and then went to work as a secretary to an attorney in Downtown Oklahoma City. Ten years later they were divorced.
In 1972, she relocated to San Jose, California and became a secretary at Lockheed Missiles and Space in Palo Alto, where she worked for nearly 20 years, rising to the position of Executive Secretary to the Vice-President of Engineering.
In 1999, she sold her California home and returned to Bethany, Oklahoma. Due to her rapidly failing sight, she entered assisted living in 2003 and, in 2015, went into care at Noble Health Care Center. Her family appreciates the care she received from the staff there, especially the daily aides who worked directly with her.
She was always beautiful, stylish, impeccably dressed, even in retirement dressing up every day as if she were going to work at Lockheed. She was smart and good with money and was one of the best bargain finders ever at Neiman Marcus and John A. Brown Department stores in OKC and Nordstroms in California. She shopped at the end of the season and put her bargains on lay-a-way to wear the next year.
As a single mom she kept a roof over our heads; a decent running car; food in our stomachs; kept us in school; clothes on our backs; shoes on our feet; and at least the main toys a kid was supposed to have like bikes, roller skates, the trending doll for Marty, a bebe gun, and dogs for Ray.
She continued to play the piano and sing all her life, even up until 2 years ago, delighting nursing home residents as "The blind Lady who could play the piano." She was resilient and determined with an acerbic sense of humor; she could be tough, but often extended surprising kindness to strangers. Her blindness plagued her, as visual appreciation for all things beautiful was her greatest joy in life. The rest of her health was nearly perfect. She had very little sickness, no surgery, and very little medication. She never complained about aches or pains, but she would complain bitterly about colors that didn't match or unattractive décor!
She was preceded in death by her husband, Tom Eppler; son, Thomas Ray Eppler; her parents, Joseph Samuel Emmert and Lela May Ratliff Emmert; her brothers and their wives, Edward and Stella Emmert, Harold and Opal Emmert, Louis and Velma Emmert, H.C. and June Emmert; and her sister, Mary Ruth Emmert Pickens and husband Earl Pickens.
She is survived by her daughter, Marty Newman; daughter-in-law, Carmen Eppler; brother, Sam Emmert and his wife Kathy Emmert; grandchildren, Angela Chandler and her husband Gary Chandler, Andrew Eppler and his wife Mila Eppler, D'Arbra Blankenship, and Sarah Eppler Janda and her husband Lance Janda; 7 great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Mother, Sister, Grandmother, Aunt, we bless you flying away on angel's wings, greeting your 5 other siblings, beloved Tom, son Ray, and parents. You are a powerful memory.
Graveside services Monday, April 18, 2022, 2:00 PM at Britton Cemetery, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Mercer-Adams Funeral Service)
Born in Wellington, Texas, the first girl after four boys, she moved often with the family as her father left farming to become a minister. She attended several different schools in Oklahoma and Texas. She was always a good student, loved school and began studying piano at age 5.
She graduated from Orange high school in 1940. She went to Bethany Penial College – now SNU- the following fall where she met Tom Eppler her first day in the registrar's office. Eighteen months later they married in Orange, Texas in a ceremony after Sunday night service of the Nazarene Church where her father was the minister.
They returned to Bethany for school, but Allie became pregnant and had to drop out. Tom, who was studying ministry, took a small Nazarene church in Britton Oklahoma on 95th and Western, so they moved there, and Tom commuted to the college. She delivered their son, and 22 months later delivered a daughter. She played the piano and sang and sewed and cooked and created a lovely home for them to live in as befitted a good minister's wife. She also worked outside the home and returned to college in September of 1951 intending to get her degree in Music. Four months later Tom died suddenly, and at 28 she became a single mother and sole support for her two young children, Ray 8, and Martha 6, and so, had to drop out of college once more and give up her dream. Over the next ten years, she bought and sold three homes, changed jobs a few times to better herself, including taking a year off at her father's request to go live with him when he was suddenly widowed and where he was serving a church in Tulsa, OK.
A year later, she moved back to Bethany with the kids, first working for a company at Wiley Post airport. After she had repeatedly rebuffed requests from her boss for a date, he trapped her in a supply closet, trying to kiss her. She managed to rather forcefully connect her knee with his groin. Walking out of the closet she picked up an empty banker's box, loaded it with her personal stuff and walked out.
A week later Allie went to work for Oklahoma State Senator Joe Bailey Cobb, Chairman of the ways and means committee. She met and married another minister and then went to work as a secretary to an attorney in Downtown Oklahoma City. Ten years later they were divorced.
In 1972, she relocated to San Jose, California and became a secretary at Lockheed Missiles and Space in Palo Alto, where she worked for nearly 20 years, rising to the position of Executive Secretary to the Vice-President of Engineering.
In 1999, she sold her California home and returned to Bethany, Oklahoma. Due to her rapidly failing sight, she entered assisted living in 2003 and, in 2015, went into care at Noble Health Care Center. Her family appreciates the care she received from the staff there, especially the daily aides who worked directly with her.
She was always beautiful, stylish, impeccably dressed, even in retirement dressing up every day as if she were going to work at Lockheed. She was smart and good with money and was one of the best bargain finders ever at Neiman Marcus and John A. Brown Department stores in OKC and Nordstroms in California. She shopped at the end of the season and put her bargains on lay-a-way to wear the next year.
As a single mom she kept a roof over our heads; a decent running car; food in our stomachs; kept us in school; clothes on our backs; shoes on our feet; and at least the main toys a kid was supposed to have like bikes, roller skates, the trending doll for Marty, a bebe gun, and dogs for Ray.
She continued to play the piano and sing all her life, even up until 2 years ago, delighting nursing home residents as "The blind Lady who could play the piano." She was resilient and determined with an acerbic sense of humor; she could be tough, but often extended surprising kindness to strangers. Her blindness plagued her, as visual appreciation for all things beautiful was her greatest joy in life. The rest of her health was nearly perfect. She had very little sickness, no surgery, and very little medication. She never complained about aches or pains, but she would complain bitterly about colors that didn't match or unattractive décor!
She was preceded in death by her husband, Tom Eppler; son, Thomas Ray Eppler; her parents, Joseph Samuel Emmert and Lela May Ratliff Emmert; her brothers and their wives, Edward and Stella Emmert, Harold and Opal Emmert, Louis and Velma Emmert, H.C. and June Emmert; and her sister, Mary Ruth Emmert Pickens and husband Earl Pickens.
She is survived by her daughter, Marty Newman; daughter-in-law, Carmen Eppler; brother, Sam Emmert and his wife Kathy Emmert; grandchildren, Angela Chandler and her husband Gary Chandler, Andrew Eppler and his wife Mila Eppler, D'Arbra Blankenship, and Sarah Eppler Janda and her husband Lance Janda; 7 great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Mother, Sister, Grandmother, Aunt, we bless you flying away on angel's wings, greeting your 5 other siblings, beloved Tom, son Ray, and parents. You are a powerful memory.
Graveside services Monday, April 18, 2022, 2:00 PM at Britton Cemetery, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Mercer-Adams Funeral Service)
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