Services for Helen Gary Morrison, 95, will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, June 10, 2022, at the First Baptist Church in Stratford, Oklahoma, under the direction of DeArman/Pickard Funeral Home. John Burnett, Chaplain, will officiate and internment will follow at McGee Cemetery.
Helen was born September 23, 1926, in Elk City, Oklahoma, to Frankie and Coke Gary. She passed away June 3, 2022, in Oklahoma City.
She was the youngest of seven children and was preceded in death by her parents, her siblings, her daughter, Peggy Larue and her husband, Don, Morrison.
She is survived by many nieces and nephews and their families and her many friends from her church family, and the close friends she met at BOSA Community Center swimming pool in Pauls Valley.
Helen was from a farming family that settled in the Lone Grove area where she attended school until World War II when she and her mom, Frankie, went to work at Douglas Aircraft Plant while her five brothers went to war. She later moved to Archer City, Texas, to live with her sister, Alice Mae, and finished high school in 1946. That is where she met Donual Jackson Morrison whom she married on September 3, 1949.
She and Don lived in Texas for several years, then moved to South America where they met and adopted their beloved daughter, Peggy. After several years in various locations in South America, Don retired from the oil field company and they moved back to the U.S. settling on their farm in Stratford in 1965.
Helen joined the First Baptist Church where she attended and taught Sunday School for many, many, years – up until her illness stopped her in November, 2021.
Helen cared for many people in her life including residents at the Stratford Nursing Center where Frankie lived for over 25 years. She also worked and retired from the Pauls Valley State School after 15 years of service. After her retirement, Helen stayed busy with her many church activities, her water classes at BOSA and her travels with her good friends Un Hui (Choe) Brown and Jane Lawson. She even sponsored two exchange students and helped many of the less fortunate in the community.
Helen was an animal lover. She returned from South America, with a parrot, Juanito (later we found out was Juanita) and adopted many dogs over the years. She was survived by her faithful companion, Fry. She was the caregiver for many cats and kittens making them food every day and bringing them leftovers from her daily lunches at Janice’s or McGee’s.
Helen loved her church and felt strongly about the missions of the Baptist Children’s home. If you would like to honor her life with a donation to the Stratford First Baptist Church’s Building Fund or the Baptist Children’s Home in lieu of flowers, it would be greatly appreciated.
