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Vickie Rae Speece was born on December 4, 1957, in Pawnee, Oklahoma. She was the daughter & youngest of the two children, born to the late Leroy & Joyce Bryant.
During childhood Vickie attended Pawnee Elementary. When she was in the 5th, her parents relocated to Stillwater where she attended Stillwater Public Schools until she was 17.5 years old.
In 1974, her best friend from High School, decided to introduce Vickie to her Uncle Ralph, who was here from West Virginia on vacation. One night they all went on a double date & enjoyed a movie & game of putt putt. Ralph & Vickie hit it off & for the next year they kept in touch with letters. During the next year, work became hard to find in West Virginia, so Vickie suggested Ralph come out here to Oklahoma, where there were several job opportunities. Then in 1975, at the age of 17.5, she decided to drop out of school & marry the love of her life.
The two were married on November 29, 1975, in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and that was almost 47 years ago. During their marriage, they were blessed with 3 wonderful daughters & a great son.
Vickie was an intelligent woman. A woman of many traits & talents. She was great at decorating, was extremely crafty & with four kids, she had learned to make anything out of nothing, with no notice at all & of course…at the last minute.
Vickie was also great at writing poems & enjoyed it, but more than anything she loved to play the piano & sing. She had a beautiful voice & when she was a child, she had learned to play the piano by ear. Over the years, she wrote many songs, one of which was sang by her at the Tulsa Junior College Pinning ceremony, when she graduated nursing school, called “I Can Touch You.”
Vickie was raised in church & saved at an early age. She had a great love for the Lord & endeavored to use her gifts & callings to serve God however she could. She served as the piano player at Skedee Assembly of God, for over 17 years. During that time, she had many requests to sing the songs that she wrote, especially the song entitled, “His Eye Is On The Sparrow.” Vickie was also a part of a singing group there at Skedee A/G, where she traveled with Pam Spess & Brenda McCormick to sing in surrounding churches.
Outside of singing in the church, Vickie loved to sing at the nursing home. The residents also loved it when she showed up to sing, but many of them had a hard time hearing her, due to the nursing home not having a PA system. So, Vickie took it upon herself to bake pies & auction them off to raise the money to purchase one for them to use.
While serving at Skedee A/G, she also chaperoned youth sleep overs, worked in nursery, helped build props for VBS & even pulled a trailer around Skedee picking up kids to take to church.
Vickie was known for a lot of things, but especially her cooking. For those that knew Vickie, knew that she not only loved to cook, but that she was great at it. She was always baking deserts, making pies & all sorts of food to send to others, as well as helping the church with dinner fundraisers.
Eventually Vickie desired to further her education, so she got her GED & decided to attend nursing school. In 1991, she graduated from Tulsa Junior College with her Bachelor’s Degree as a Registered Nurse, & served as a nurse for over 23 years. Outside of her husband & kids, Vickie loved nursing more than anything else. She especially loved working in trauma units, where it required you to think on your feet, which she was also great at. As an RN, Vickie spent a lot of time working in the Burn Unit at Hillcrest in Tulsa, as well as the Pawnee Hospital, Cushing Regional Hospital & Dick Conners Correctional Facility. During her time at Cushing Regional, she worked the ER & was also a House Supervisor. While she was at Pawnee Hospital, she worked in the ER & was over the Home Health & Hospice. Throughout the years Vickie became certified in numerous medical procedures & was constantly continuing her health care education. When Vickie became a nurse, she found her calling in life & was outstanding at what she did. Over the years, several Doctors had told her that she has missed her calling & that she should go back to school & become a Dr or Physician’s Assistant, but going back to school would require time away from the family that she loved most.
While here on earth, nothing was more important to her than God & family. She was blessed with four kids & five grandkids, whom she loved more than anything else. Her world revolved around them & you could always tell by the way that she talked, that she was proud of each of them.
Vickie was deeply loved by her husband, children & each person that she came into contact with. Her life on this earth, brought joy & light to those around her & her life left a mark on those who knew her.
She passed from this life on February 18, 2022, at the age of 64 years old, at St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa, OK, surrounded by family. She was preceded in death by her father, mother, grandparents and nephew.
Today we gather, not to mourn her passing but to celebrate her life & legacy of love. She will forever be cherished by her husband, children, grandchildren, and sister as well as numerous other family members & friends.
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