|
| |
Mary Jo (Simmons) Arens, the only child of William Elbert and Ora Mae (Copeland) Simmons, was born November 28, 1930, in Okemah, Oklahoma. Her family moved to Phillips, Texas in 1939 where she graduated from Phillips High School in 1947. She continued her education at Texas Women's University (formerly TSCW), graduating in 1951 with a BS degree in Child Development and Family Relations. She obtained a MS degree in Education at West Texas University in 1955. Later, she obtained a Certification in Mentally Handicapped Education and Learning Disabilities at the University of Tulsa.
Mary Jo married James "Jim" Leroy Arens in 1955 in Borger, Texas, where they resided until relocating to Bartlesville, Oklahoma with Phillips Petroleum Co. in 1963. Mary Jo dedicated her life to teaching at Phillips Elementary School in Phillips, Texas, Osage Hills School, and Ramona/Ochelata School, both in Oklahoma. She also belonged to the National Education Association and the Oklahoma Education Association.
Mary Jo and Jim were members of St. John Catholic Church in Bartlesville, where they raised their family. As a mother, she served the Girl Scouts as a Brownie Leader and Summer Camp Leader, and the Boy Scouts as a Den Leader. Mary Jo belonged to the Women's Association at St. John Church, the Genealogical Society, the Green Thumb Garden Club, and the Pen and Tux Extension Homemakers. She also enjoyed playing bridge. She served as a volunteer at the Jane Phillips Hospital for many years giving more than 9,000 hours, and knitted baby hats for newborns. Mary Jo retired in Bartlesville and relocated to Houston, Texas in 2011 in the care of her daughter. She passed away on March 15, 2016 in Houston, TX.
Mary Jo was preceded in death by her husband in 2002 and her younger daughter Mary Anita in 2015.
She is survived by her sons Michael (Marjorie) Arens of Wichita, Kansas; Joel (Roberta) Arens of Rockledge, Florida; and William (Annamarie) Arens of Dothan, Alabama; and her daughter Diane (Anthony) Glick of Houston, Texas. She is also survived by her grandchildren Brenda (Jerry) Gutierrez and children Alaina and Liam, Pearland, TX; Katherine (Chad), Orlando, FL; Emily (Eric) and Edison, Clarksville, TN; Alycia and Johnny, Gainesville, FL; Carolyn Arens, Houston, TX; Robert Arens, Wichita, KS; and Zachary Hornbrook, Flagler Beach, FL. She is also survived by many cousins, and nieces and nephews.
A rosary will be held at 6pm on April 28th, followed by a funeral Mass at 10am on April 29th at St. John Catholic Church in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Houston Hospice at www.houstonhospice.org, or at 1905 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX 77030, in memory of Mary Jo Arens.
Published in Examiner-Enterprise from Apr. 3 to May 3, 2016
This site may be freely linked, but not duplicated in any way without consent.
All rights reserved! Commercial use of material within this site is prohibited!
© 2000-2024 Oklahoma CemeteriesThe information on this site is provided free for the purpose of researching your genealogy. This material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, for your own research, as long as this message remains on all copied material. The information contained in this site may not be copied to any other site without written "snail-mail" permission. If you wish to have a copy of a donor's material, you must have their permission. All information found on these pages is under copyright of Oklahoma Cemeteries. This is to protect any and all information donated. The original submitter or source of the information will retain their copyright. Unless otherwise stated, any donated material is given to Oklahoma Cemeteries to make it available online. This material will always be available at no cost, it will always remain free to the researcher.