Mary Woolsey
A funeral ceremony honoring the life of Mary Jayne Woolsey will be held at 10:00 AM on Friday, September 27, 2019, at Southern Hills Baptist Church in Tulsa. The family will receive friends from 6-8 PM Thursday at Bixby Funeral Service. A committal service will be held at 2:00 PM Friday at the Oakwood Cemetery in Wewoka. Mary passed away Saturday, September 21, 2019, in Broken Arrow at the age of 99.
Born May 15, 1920, in Wewoka, Mary was the daughter of Emery Richard and Susie (Smith) Creach. The youngest of 9 children, Mary had a wonderful childhood in Wewoka on Hitchite Street. Wewoka was booming during the 1920s where Mary was very engaged in the community and school activities. She made a lot of friends and was known to be very social. Dancing and music were always a big part of Mary’s life. She enjoyed many dances at Dreamland during her early years, a popular dancing venue in the area. During those days, it wasn’t uncommon to have bands and orchestras present at these events. Mary graduated from Wewoka High School in 1939 and attended college in Oklahoma City.
While in college and attending a dance, Bill Woolsey inquired about her beauty and he loved her until the day he died, January 26, 1985. The couple married May 25, 1941, in Oklahoma City. They lived in Oklahoma City until Bill completed college and returned from World War II, Bill’s career in finance relocated their young family to Ada, Texarkana, and eventually Tulsa in 1948. Mary devoted her entire life to her family.
Mary was passionate about gardening and antiquing. She and Bill would regularly pack their lunches and attend antique auctions on the weekends. They also enjoyed their season tickets to the Oklahoma Sooner football games. Mary loved her flowers, particularly hydrangeas, peonies, and iris’. She enjoyed traveling during her later years, enjoying foilage tours throughout the southern states and New England. She also enjoyed several family trips to Cozumel, as well as an Alaskan cruise. Mary was a fabulous cook, known for her “farmer’s dinners” where all of the ingredients were fresh.
Surviving family members include her children: Stephen Woolsey, Sue Ann Simpson and her husband, Barry, Patty Frakes and her husband, Alan, Joannie Sibole, and Barbara Woolsey; her seven grandchildren: Christa Woolsey-Kelly, Christopher Spears, Shawn Spears, Tyler Frakes, Susan Van-Zandt, Stephanie Diller, and Natalie White; fifteen great-grandchildren; and four great-great-grandchildren. Mary was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, and seven siblings.