Lela Friesen
Obituary
Lela Grace Friesen, 91, of Adams,
Oklahoma, passed away Sunday (March 18, 2018) at Asbury Park
long-term care facility in Newton.
Lela was born Aug. 18, 1926, to Jacob
B. and Anna (Wiebe) Friesen on the farm near Hooker, Oklahoma.
Lela grew up on the family homestead
near the Adams community, where she attended Adams Schools. On Nov.
17, 1946, Lela was united in marriage to William Friesen at the Adams
Mennonite Brethren Church. She and William settled on a farm north of
Adams where they raised their children. In the early 1960s, they
moved to their home west of Adams.
As a young girl, Lela was baptized at
the Adams Mennonite Brethren Church. She was active in the church
most of her life and, for a time, played the organ and sang in the
choir.
Lela loved tending to her roses,
gardening and caring for her cattle. She was a long-time, active
member of the Women's Home Extension Club. She was on the original
board of the Et Cetera Shop in Liberal and enjoyed volunteering
there. Highlights for her were attending family reunions. Her
children and grandchildren will always remember Lela for the
peppernuts she made at Christmas time and for keeping them supplied
with sand plum jelly.
In 2011, Lela moved to an independent
living facility in Newton to be near her daughters. She lived in a
duplex for several years, often helping with the residents in the
nearby long-term care facility. As her health failed, she
transitioned to assisted living and then, just recently, to long-term
care.
Lela was preceded in death by her
husband, William Friesen; and her parents, Jacob and Anna Friesen.
She is survived by her four children:
Roland Friesen and wife Jone, Tulsa, Oklahoma, Anna Kilpatrick,
Newton, Luci Monares and husband Dany, Newton and Marlin Friesen and
wife Glenda, Adams, Oklahoma.
Lela delighted in her five
grandchildren: Gwen Friesen and husband Scott McDonald, Clifton Park,
New York, Philip Friesen and wife Jennifer, Oklahoma City, Omar
Monares and wife Ashley, Wichita, Roman Monares, Newton and Kerry
Friesen and wife Kelsey, Norman, Oklahoma.
Lela took a special interest in each
one of her five great-grandchildren: Shelbie Fields, Maya and Layne
McDonald, Duncan Monares and Gabriel Friesen.
She is also survived by three brothers
and one sister: Melvin Friesen and wife Doris, Hillsboro, Texas,
Gerald Friesen and wife Judy, Las Vegas, Willis Friesen and wife Pat,
Frisco, Texas, and Karen Isaac and husband Harold, Hooker, Oklahoma;
and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
The family will be greeting visitors
from 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday (March 25, 2018) at Roberts Brothers Funeral
Home. Graveside services will be at 10 a.m. Monday (March 26, 2018)
at Mennonite Brethren Cemetery near Adams, Oklahoma. Memorial
services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Mennonite Brethren Church in
Adams.
Memorials are suggested to Adams
Mennonite Brethren Church or to the Good Shepherd Hospice of Newton
and may be left at Roberts Brothers Funeral Home, Box 745, Hooker, OK
73945.
Condolences may be left at
www.robertsbrothersfuneralhome.com.
