Imogene King

King

Imogene (Tomlin) King was born Feb. 17, 1929, in Boley, Okla., to Sylvia Tomlin and Charlie Burdine, both of Boley, Okla. After the death of her mother when she was 5 years old, Imogene went to live with her maternal grandparents, Pastor James W. and Etha Tomlin of Boley. She grew up alongside her aunts, uncles and cousins in a happy, religious household.

Imogene attended school through the 11th grade. She married Cornell Leon King at a ceremony at her grandparents’ home in 1946, which also was the year her grandmother passed. The couple moved to Seminole County, where they farmed, ranched and raised seven children, five boys and two girls.

After being a stay-athome mom who worked out of the home on occasion, she entered the workforce fulltime in 1969 in the manufacturing industry. She first worked for LeFac in Boley and eventually retired from Big Yank Corp., a jean manufacturer in Wewoka, Okla.

Advocates of education, Imogene and Cornell saw that all their children graduate high school and attend college, except Cornell Leon Jr., who died at 18. After Cornell was admitted to Colonial Park Nursing Home in Okemah, Son Harold and daughterin- law Marlene moved to the family home to stay with Imogene. In her later years, Imogene moved to Olathe , Kan., to live with daughter Sharon and sonin- law Jean-Pierre and their two sons.

One of her many joys in life was to travel and she took trips with each of her children traveling cross country from New York to California to Vermont to Mexico and all points in between. As she often said, she went places she had only dreamed of, saw things she had only imagined and sometimes ate things that she regretted, but she did it all with people she loved.

Baptized at a young age, her faith comforted and strengthened her through her life. A longtime member of Bells Chapel Baptist Church, she was most recently a member of Full Gospel Baptist Church in Boley.

Imogene died peacefully in her sleep at home November 28, 2022, in the company of family.

Imogene is survived by her children William (wife Ella) of Alexandria, La.; Harold (wife Marlene) of Cromwell; Clyde Sr. (wife Linda) of Grand Prairie, Texas; Sharon Foulon (husband Jean-Pierre) of Cromwell and Galveston, Texas; Sylvia King-Cohen (husband Norm Cohen) of Kings Park, N.Y.; grandchildren Margie McCant (husband Larry), Carl King, LaTasha King; Tracy Willis, Roshell Davis, Dianah Brown (husband Stephen), Richard King Jr., Chris King (wife TaLisha), Debra King Robert (husband Jason), Senobia Rainwater, Clyde King Jr., Eric King, Shanna King, Nicholas Foulon (fiancée Jessica Pengelly), Daniel Foulon and Andrew Cohen (wife Abby); siblings Eldora Marietta and Oliver Burdine; Aunt Etha Hornbeck, niece Maxine Smith, brother-in-law Albert King and a host of nieces, nephews, greatgreat- and great-greatgreat- grandchildren. Imogene was preceded in death by her parents Sylvia Tomlin and Charles Burdine, maternal grandparents Pastor James W. and Etha Tomlin, fraternal grandparents Hobert and Laura Burdine, sons Cornell Leon King Jr. and Richard Donald King Sr., brother Sylvester Franklin, husband Cornell Leon King Sr., daughter-in-law Brenda King and grandson Ron King.

Imogene King’s public viewing will be noon - 5 pm Friday, Dec. 9, 2022, at 222 S. Pecan St., Boley, under the direction of Keith D. Biglow Funeral Directors.

Funeral services will be noon Dec. 10 at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, 202 N. Third St., Okemah. Burial to follow at West Lawn Cemetery, Boley. Lunch will be served afterward at the Creek Nation Community Center, next to 1100 S. Woody Guthrie St., Okemah.