Ona Virginia Johnson King

© Enid News and Eagle

12-28-2008

Submitted by: Jo Aguirre

The funeral service for Ona Virginia King, age 82, will be 11 a.m. today, Dec. 29, 2008, at Ladusau-Evans Funeral Home Chapel. Rev. Keith Miller will officiate. Burial will be in the Enid Cemetery.

Ona was born Nov. 28, 1926, in Habershame, TN, to Rosa and Franklin Johnson. She left this world Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2008, after a short illness.

She is survived by one daughter, Fawn King Reely and her husband, Blaine; one sister, Rachel Grigsby; and six grandchildren, Flynn Whitfield King of Oklahoma City, Devin Douglas King of Dallas and Ali Kathleen King of Dallas, Spencer Elizabeth Reely, Jacob August Reely and Kathryn Lark Reely, all of Enid.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Forest Douglas King, her son, Forest Randal King, one brother, Randal Marian Johnson and four sisters, Hannah Hardee, Willie Brown, Mildred Clarke and Marie Alexander.

Here I will depart from the usual obituary format and, as last survivor in the household of my youth, will tell you about the life that would be diminished by listing a few activities on a page.

She was a member of ABWA. This seems like a tiny amount of community service, but to those of us who knew her, her time was as valuable to her as the Biblical widow's mite. Her time was always spent in helping with the family business and with the care and raising of children and later grandchildren.

She was her family's best cheerleader, even with no formal training. She supported every bake sale, bought wrapping paper she never used, ordered cookie dough, drove to countless sporting events she didn't understand to watch the progress of her children and grandchildren ... all the while maintaining a more than full-time job. I remember being in bed for hours before my mother would finally retire after sewing thousands of sequins onto a twirling costume for me. (Something I didn't appreciate until I had children of my own.)

She was a world-class seamstress and crafter. She quilted, crocheted, knitted, embroidered and made every article of my clothing until I was 7 years old and had my first "store bought" dress. We took toll painting and fabric painting classes together. She taught me to sew when my oldest daughter was born. This was preceded by a couple of failed attempts on my part due to lack of patience. Of course she could easily repair all my mistakes in less time than it took me to rip it out.

She began vo-tech computer classes when she was 65. Her business had moved into the computer era and she adjusted and excelled at acquiring this new technology in order to keep business current and efficient. She was a meticulous bookkeeper and expected the same excellence from her family.

After the death of my father, she ran the family business with my brother for another six years. At the time of his death, at the age of 80, she became president of King Transfer and Storage, working more than 40 hours a week with the able assistance of Terry Sears and staff. She worked until just before her death and orchestrated many decisions from her hospital bed just prior to her death.

She was a loving and kind mother who never thought of herself but always of her family. She mourned greatly the loss of my brother, but saw it necessary to continue for my sake. She knew I was unable to deal with her loss as well.

She was a disciplinarian when needed and suffered the same dilemma every mother faces between building character in their children and wanting to grant them every possible luxury.

She left me with much wisdom that I know will come to mind when needed most.

But I would like to pass on a couple of her wisdoms. One is to remember that no matter where you go, you always take yourself with you (and the unspoken "so you had better like your traveling companion") and "You're never too old to become what you might have been."

I will love her forever and miss her every day for as long as I live. I'll try to deserve her investment in my life as the years go by. Her loss will be mourned greatly by all her family and friends.

Memorials may be made to the local Disabled American Veterans with Ladusau-Evans Funeral Home as custodian of the funds.

Condolences may be e-mailed to the family at ladusauevans@suddenlink mail.com.

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