REMEMBRANCE

WILDA LEE TAHMAHKERA 1931-2010

LAWTON CONSTITUTION - JULY 16, 2010

Wilda Lee Tahmahkera O’Keeffe

CITY ISLAND, N.Y. - Funeral for Wilda Lee Tahmahkera O’Keeffe, 79, City Island, N.Y., will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Comanche Nation Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Videll Yackeschi officiating.

She entered the Kingdom of Heaven on Sunday, July 11, 2010. Burial will be in Highland Cemetery.

Wilda Lee Tahmahkera O’Keeffe was born March 10, 1931, at Kiowa Indian Hospital in Lawton, to Wilson and Ida Tomah Tahmahkera. Wilda is the seventh child of nine brothers and sisters and is a direct descendant of “Chief Quanah Parker.” Wilda attended Walters and Chilocco Indian schools before leaving Oklahoma. She traveled extensively across the country, living at one time in Washington, D.C., and finally settled in City Island, N.Y. She was an active member of her community and devoted much of her time to the charitable activities of her church, St. Mary’s Star of the Sea. Wilda Lee had a great sense of wit and humor that brought smiles to many. She was an avid gardener and enjoyed reading her many books. With great enthusiasm she enjoyed collecting unique treasures and giving them as gifts to friends and family. Wilda will be truly missed by her friends and family who loved her.

Wilda is survived by her sons: Gary Tahmahkera and wife, Barbara, Wichita Falls, Texas; Ricky Stewart, New York; and Robert O’Keeffe and wife, Tara, Pleasantville, N.Y.; her daughters: Paula Stewart Phillips and husband, Wayne, Beech Island, S. C.; Kelly O’Keeffe Favata and husband, Stephen, Jackson, N.J.; Kara O’Keeffe McDonald and husband, Edward, Rockland, N.Y.; and Kerry O’Keeffe, City Island; 14 grandchildren; her sister, Marjorie Pahdopony, Lawton; brother, Marvin Tahmahkera, Cumberland, Wis.; brother, Garrison Tahmahkera, Tempe, Ariz.; many loving nieces and nephews; and her faithful companion, “Princess.”

Wilda was preceded in death by her children: Kimberly O’Keeffe Black and Jerry Tahmahkera; her loving grandson, Kevin Matthew McDonald; her sisters: Pauline Tahmahkera, Richenda Reid and Beatrice Smith; and her brothers: Monroe Tahmahkera and Wilson “Spencer” Tahmahkera.

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