Tomisene Ingram

Tomisene Ingram was born Dorothy Thomasene McAlister in Fay, Oklahoma, to Dorothy and Thomas McAlister. She graduated from Fay High School in 1956 where she played basketball and participated in 4-H. Tomisene went on to Oklahoma State University that same year where she played varsity field hockey, basketball, and ping pong. She eventually graduated with a degree in Home Economics in 1960. She met and married her husband, Francis Ingram, of Elgin, OK in 1958. In addition to Fay and Stillwater, Tomisene also lived in Gordon and Valentine, Nebraska; Eagle Butte, South Dakota; San Carlos, Arizona; and Carnegie, Oklahoma. Tomisene's main focus in life was to help others through devotion and service. Over the years, Tomisene worked as a home economics extension agent, 7th grade science teacher, school counselor, municipal judge, newspaper writer, and a home economics teacher. In fact, while teaching in Oney, her home economics program won top awards as the best program in Oklahoma; this came with the privilege of hosting an exchange student from Japan for a year. During her lifetime she happily supported the communities she lived in as a 4-H leader, a Girl Scout leader, and a softball coach. She also hosted exchange students and refugees, and became a foster home where several children lived with her and her family. She mentored both students and adults alike who stated that she gave them hope because she never stopped believing in them. She was also dubbed "Fastest Needle in the West", along with her best friend Willene Walsh, at a sewing contest hosted at the Oklahoma State Fair. Tomisene was known for her meticulous professional sewing skills and briefly sewed for the Mo Betta shirt company. Her second life adventure began when she was called to the ministry in 1990. She became an ordained United Methodist Minister and pastored in Roosevelt, Lookeba, Gracemont, Hardesty, Lucien, Cache, Jay and Texhoma. She was ordained as an Elder of the UMC in 2006 before retiring. During her ministry, Tomisene was a member of the Kairos Team (a non-denominational women's prison ministry), a UMC Camp Counselor, and a VBS teacher, just to name a few of her numerous mission activities. In her free time, she had a Hobby Farm - she LOVED those cattle! She also loved to travel around the world with her husband, and is well-known for her beautifully landscaped yard.

She is survived by her husband, Francis Wilkerson Ingram, of 55 years; her daughter, Desiree Ingram of Tryon; her son, Wesley Ingram and his wife, Patricia, of Claremore; her daughter, Leisa Weintraub, and her husband, Adam, of Tulsa; and her son, Michael Ingram, and his wife, Adrian, of Fort Worth, Texas. She is also survived by her seven grandchildren: Valeria and Miranda Luster, Garrett, Mark and Brandon Ingram, and Allison and Ben Weintraub.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her sisters, Frances Lane and Beulah Stinson, and her brother, Thomas Wesley.

Tomisene was diagnosed with Breast Cancer and became a survivor in 2002. She was diagnosed with metastatic bone cancer in 2010 and fought it valiantly until June of 2014.

Funeral Services: 1:30p.m., Friday, June 13, 2014 at the First United Methodist Church, Carnegie, OK
Burial will follow at Mount Hope Cemetery, Fay, OK
Officiating: Rev. Chris Tiger and Rev. Kristi Smith
Under the direction of Ray & Martha's Funeral Home, Carnegie

You may send online condolences to the family at RayAndMarthas.com

Family will greet relatives and friends Thursday from 6-7p.m., at Ray & Martha's Funeral Home