Etta Arlene Boyd

Arlene, loving and beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, great- great grandmother passed peacefully April 9th, 2020. She was 94 years young and was surrounded at the end by her adoring family who marveled at her dignity and shining radiance.

Arlene was born November 7, 1925, to William (Bill) Henry Maddox and Evelyn Mary Lee Maddox at Acme near Rush Springs. She was raised during the great depression, dust bowl days of SW Oklahoma and the "roaring 20's " ,and remembered hard times and making do with what you had. She attended grade schools at Beaver and Rocksprings and High School at Central High near Marlow, Oklahoma. She was baptized into Christ at an early age at Rock Springs Baptist Church.

Arlene met the love of her life at a school bus stop where country kids would meet to catch the bus to school. A new boy had moved into the community and it was love at first sight. She married Kenneth E Boyd in 1945. She was his best friend, confidante, adviser and partner who shared a lifetime of mutual love and happiness.

In 1946, they moved to the Boyd family farm that her husband's great grandfather homesteaded in 1901. There has been five generations that have lived on the farm. They raised wheat, cotton, and cattle until their retirement. Arlene would always work beside her husband, prepare lunches for her family and the hired help, drive a truck to haul wheat to the grain elevators in Roosevelt, Synder, and Gotebo. In the fall, cotton harvest rolled around and she was ready to haul cotton to the gins.

She was an excellent cook and homemaker; everything was washed and put up, clothes on hangers and in closets, and dishes washed and in cabinets before retiring for the night. Arlene belonged to Research and 4-You Extension Clubs in Kiowa County; where she entered her chocolate fudge in the county fair, she always brought home the blue ribbons. Her cellar always had neatly stacked shelves of canned fruits, jellies, and vegetables that she raised in her garden--black-eye peas, green beans, tomatoes, beets, okra, plums, peaches, apples, apricots and wild blackberries. When they got electricity in 1949, they got their first deep freeze. It wasn't long before it to was full of fruits and vegetables and fresh meats of pork, beef, and chicken; also deer, elk, and buffalo that were purchased at the Wildlife Refuge and always butchered and cut and wrapped at home.

She already knew how to sew and cook having helped her mother raise her brothers and sister. She was an excellent seamstress making her daughters clothes and wedding dresses, rhythm band suits for her son and her own square dance dresses. She later worked in dress shops in Hobart as salesperson and excellent seamstress.

Arlene was an active member of Cooperton Christian Church, raising her children in the Christian faith until they were married and gone. She enjoyed teaching Sunday school and helped with Vacation Bible School each year and helped with Church dinners. She was active with community affairs helping with funeral lunches and community suppers which were held each month.

After they got their family raised, she and Kenneth took square dance lessons and were members of the Cooperton County Squares, having their own dance the first and third Saturday night and traveling to area towns visiting clubs also going to Red River, N.M. to dance and vacation each year. They then started the Sat. Nite Dance at Cooperton and sponsored this for 27 years.

She loved to go to the Wichita Wildlife Refuge with friends and family picnicking, swimming, mountain climbing, enjoying the birds and animals. She loved to see hummingbirds come each spring and kept many feeders filled for them.

Arlene was devoted to her family, a nurturing and caring mother, generous, fun loving and always available to help anyone at any time. She paved a wide swath of joy, fun, and friendship making lifelong friends through out the community or wherever she went. But above all she was devoted to her family, constantly caring and fiercely loyal. She was our heart and soul, the magnet that drew us together and bonded us for life. Her love and example made all of us better people and is reflected in the beautiful families each of her children had created and sustained. It was her proudest accomplishment to see her children and grandchildren happy and loved and living in Christian Faith.

She gave all of us the greatest gift possible, a happy home and a lifetime of joy, fun, good times, broad horizons and above all LOVE. So beyond the tears, grief, and sadness, we stand in humble gratitude for the blessings we have received from this remarkable and unique woman. The void she leaves is immeasurable. But so is her legacy and from this we draw solace and comfort. Go with God, sweet Girl, until we met again.

Survivors are two daughters: Sheila Lorene Brand and husband Rex, Mountain Home, Texas and Kathy Dianne Cacini and husband Rick, Yukon, Okla.; one son, Stephen Eugene Boyd and wife Debbie, Hobart, Okla.; one sister, Jackie Stewart of Marlow, one brother Kenneth Maddox and wife Mary, Tulsa, Okla, Nine Grandchildren, Twenty - two great grandchildren and Three Great- Grandchildren

Arlene is preceded in death by her parents, William "Bill" Henry and Evelyn Mary Lee Maddox, two brothers, Howard and Jimmy Maddox, and a grandson, Travis Wayne Brand.

In Lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Kiowa County Museum

Under the direction of Ray & Martha's Funeral Home, Hobart, OK