Westville Cemetery
Adair County, Oklahoma

Maxine Buffington

© Roberts & Hart Funeral Home
August 2013
Submitted by: Martha Real

Maxine Buffington was born on a farm in Madison County, Arkansas near the community of Buckeye on July 18, 1918. She was a twin. Her twin sister, Christine, preceded her in death in 2004. She was one of eight children born to N.L. and Ruby Williams. While watching his wife can food one day when they were about to starve to death trying to farm a pile of rocks, her Dad got the idea to open a canning factory with the help of a banker near Hinesville, Arkansas. This was successful and he went on to open canning factories in Springdale and Summers in Arkansas and in Westville and Haskell in Oklahoma. The family moved to Westville and Maxine attended high school there, graduating in 1937.

During the Dust Bowl and Depression, three of her older sisters: Irene Bell, Shirley Johnson, Evelyn Dennis and their husbands moved to California looking for and finding work. Her two brothers: Luther Williams and his wife Ruth Carrington and Nolan "Gene" Williams stayed in Oklahoma, as did her oldest sister, Mabel, who married Russell Alberty, Ernest Buffington's cousin. Gene later married Madelyn Englert and after completing his PhD in Texas, spent his career teaching at the University of Arkansas. In 1936, her family moved to Haskell, minus Maxine who was 17 at the time and ran off and married Ernest "Fat" Buffington, a young cowboy working for Tom Woods, much to the dismay of her father. Her father had wanted her to go to college since she had unusual mechanical abilities, designing a canning factory for her father when she was still a teenager. She never went to college, but her twin, Christine, did and was the homecoming queen at Northeastern and married the Captain of the football team, Jimmy Stevenson of Muskogee and became a school teacher in Muskogee for almost 40 years.

Maxine was a hard worker, tremendous cook and helped her husband Ernest in many ventures. Ernest was a reasonably successful Rodeo cowboy while he was working for Tom Woods and qualified several times for the World Championship Rodeo held at the time in Madison Square Garden in New York City. Ernest also managed to go to school and play football at Northeastern for 2 ½ years prior to dropping out and performing full time in rodeos. While performing in rodeos he met an important rodeo fan, Frank Phillips, who owned Phillips Petroleum Company. Mr. Phillips liked Ernest and Maxine and set them up in the oil business distributing fuel to gas stations and contractors in NE Oklahoma and NW Arkansas. Maxine ran the oil company most of the time, as Ernest and his brother Owen "Hungry" Buffington ran cattle from Chewey to Proctor and also to Westville and Baron Fork, as Oklahoma was open range back then. Maxine and Ernest bought the old Buffington farm east of Westville and the ranch near Strawberry Springs when they closed the open range in Oklahoma and continued in the ranching business for the next fifty plus years. They also had three gas stations for many years and a bar and a restaurant for a short time. Ernest served for 13 years as Westville's Postmaster and Maxine was the City Secretary for several years in addition to their other ventures.

The Buffington family owes a particularly large debt of gratitude to Terry and Nancy Wilhite and their sons Jamey and Jeremy who stayed with her for the last several years and took over the ranch. Also to Lauren Wilhite, Joyce Frasier and Deanna Hensel who provided much comfort to her. Much is owed to Bill and Linda Hamblin, who looked after both Maxine and Ernest and was their partner in the cattle business for many years. Bill, who has been a lifelong friend and classmate of Jack's, ate more meals at Maxine and Fat's over the years than did Jack. John and Jean Maupin were also "children" of Maxine's.

Maxine and Fat also "adopted" a classmate of Jack's at Arkansas by the name of Raul Cisneros from Panama in Central America. He sent his son, Raulito, up to live with Maxine and Fat for two years and later sent him to the Air Force Academy as an exchange student from Panama. Raulito attended school in Westville during those two years. Raulito asked for and was granted the right to stay in the U.S. when his father, Raul, who was Secretary of Transportation and financial advisor to the President of Panama was killed. Raulito, now goes by Raul, currently lives in Maryland with his family and has held several high ranking positions in Washington. Maxine and Fat also "adopted" many of Cindy's friends as she was growing up and attending college.

Maxine is survived by her daughter: Dr. Cynthia Buffington, an Internationally known medical researcher and specialist, who is the Director of Research at Florida Hospital Celebration Health in Celebration, Florida and lectures in numerous countries worldwide and her son: Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy Retired and later college professor, Jack Buffington and his wife Robin and their two daughters: Shawn Lohrmann of Arlington, Texas and Kelly Corey and husband Brian of Meridian, Idaho, four great Grandchildren: Sarah Lohrmann of Houston, Texas, Matthew Lohrmann of Arlington, Texas, Isabella Corey and Brandon Corey of Meridian, Idaho. She is also survived by her younger brother: Nolan Williams of Fayetteville, Arkansas and his children and their families. She also has many other nieces and nephews including Westville natives: Ann Leinn Bowles Gibson and her husband Ken McLain of Blue Springs, Missouri, Gene and Diana Buffington and Brody and also the family of the late J.L. and Linda Buffington, as well as numerous other nieces, nephews and cousins from Arkansas to California.

She was preceded in death by all of her sisters: Mabel, Irene, Shirley, Evelyn and Christine, their husbands and her brother: Luther and his wife Ruth, three sister-in-laws: Faye Gene Buffington, Faynell Bowles and Madelyn Williams and brother-in-laws: Hungry Buffington and Woodrow Bowles. Her younger brother, Nolan Williams, lives in the Butterfield Retirement Home in Fayetteville.

Maxine lived a long and successful life and has gone to join her husband, Ernest, in a better place. She was a lifetime member of the Methodist Church.

Memorial services were held at 2:30 pm on Saturday, August 10, 2013 at Roberts & Hart Funeral Home, Westville, Oklahoma.