Courtesy of Greer Funeral Home

Wilma Lazette Wheeler Hendricks Sheppard

© Greer Funeral Home

Used With Permission

Submitted by: Jo Aguirre

Wilma Lazette Sheppard, age 94, of Mangum, passed away Tuesday morning, April 24, 2012, at Grace Living Center, in Mangum.

It was Fairview countryside, Oklahoma, June 7, 1917, during a tornado that Lazette Wheeler was born to Homer and Beulah (Markum) Wheeler. The wind blew the house off its blocks and broke out the windows during the birth. Blankets were hung over the shattered windows to keep the storm at bay during her mother’s final labors. Her first few hours of life were spent bundled in a float wagon on a mattress, being driven to the home of her grandparents, J.A. and Emma Wheeler.

Lazette’s only sibling, Howard was born in September, 1923, and she found herself being a little mother to Howard during the long hours while their mother, Buelah, worked in the fields. Many days they would sit under the float wagon, which hauled cotton bundles from the fields, swatting at gnats and waiting for the day to end when they could go home. She recalled the Saturday chores which included sweeping the dirt yard – Howard would load the piles into his little wagon and cart them off to the field. For his own amusement, he would agitate her into chasing him around the yard with her broom. Once she was older, she kept house while their parents worked.

The Wheelers farmed land for Homer’s father until they purchased their own place in Hester, Oklahoma. Lazette went to school in Martha and was crowned Beauty Queen her junior year by the Martha basketball team. The King was the captain of the team, Gilbert “Tuss” Sheppard. During her last year of school in 1934, her father died and was buried on her 17th birthday. The following years she married.

Raymond Hendricks was a part of Lazette’s life from early on. They grew up together in Fairview and played house with his brother and sister – Lazette would play the part of the little girl in the family. So it was no surprise that they would marry, which they did in January, 1936 – she was 18 and Raymond was 20. The day of their wedding dawned with severely cold weather, making travel nearly impossible. Lazette waited anxiously for Raymond to come get her. And come he did.

Some ten months later, their only child was born. Through a difficult childbirth, their son RV arrived. There would be no other children, but RV’s two sons and daughter bore five grandchildren which brought Lazette great Joy. They are, Michael Ray Hendricks and wife Tonya, Douglas Wain Hendricks and Sheila Jean Warren and husband Wesley; five grandchildren and seven great grandchildren; one brother, Howard Wheeler and many other friends and relatives.

Raymond worked on his father’s large farm after they married. Their early years were spent hard at work with the traditional Saturday trip to town as their humble means of entertainment. Later, Raymond inherited his father’s 160 acres of land which they farmed until they moved to Mangum. Raymond continued to farm and work at the Mangum power plant until his tragic death in 1970 when he and several other citizens were murdered during a crazed attack by a deranged man living in Mangum.

After thirty-seven years of marriage to Raymond, Lazette was on her own for three years, working as an inspector at Kellwood’s, a lingerie manufacturing in Altus. As time passed, her friend from high school, Tuss Sheppard came into her life again and they were married, for twenty-four years. Tuss and Lazette did a little farming south of Mangum for several years and retired in their home on North Louis Tittle, where Lazette lived out her days.

Lazette loved her family and home life. As a very crafty lady, there were projects underway which usually found their way into the homes of friends and loved ones. For many years, she assisted with the nursery at First Baptist Church. She was a collector of all sorts of memorabilia which adorned every nook and cranny of her home. She cherished her memories.

Funeral services for Lazette Hendricks Sheppard will be at 10 a.m., Friday, April 27, 2012, at the Mangum First Baptist Church with Pastor Shawn Johnson officiating. Interment will follow at Riverside Cemetery under the direction of Greer Funeral Home of Mangum.

Online tributes may be made to the family at www.GreerFuneral.com