WILMA McFATRIDGE Obituary

WILMA MCFATRIDGE  Wilma was born March 23, 1933 in Ardmore, OK and passed on September 6, 2024 in Whitewright, TX. She was raised in the Healdton, OK oil fields where her father worked for Mobil for 45 years. Her early years were marked by the Great Depression and World War II, but the area had oil, which was in great demand. Dundee, the school Wilma attended, was the beneficiary of the local economy and was fortunate to have wonderful teachers. Wilma was selected to attend Oklahoma Girls' State her junior year of high school and went on to graduate as Valedictorian from Dundee High School. There were only fifteen students in her graduating class, and most of them began their education together as first graders at Dundee. Don, Jerry, Russ, Ray, Shirley, and Wilma maintained their friendship over many years; until the Covid-19 Pandemic, they continued to meet annually.  The Freeman family attended the local Baptist church, and Wilma made a profession of faith at the age of ten. After taking up piano lessons in the third grade, she began playing the piano in church at age twelve. In 2019, she finally retired from the piano at the First Presbyterian Church in Whitewright, TX.  Wilma attended Southeastern State University in Durant, OK where she did both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees. Soon after entering college, she began playing the piano at the First Baptist church in Durant. Doylene, Laverne, Jeanne, Vi, and Wilma soon became friends and maintained a close friendship through the years. All very active members of the Baptist Student Union, they also continued to meet once a year until recently and still stayed in touch by phone. Graduating in the top 10% of her college class, Wilma is listed in the Who's Who Among Students in American Universities.  In May 1952, Wilma met Bill McFatridge when he arrived home from Korea after serving with the 45th Infantry Division. They were married on November 25, 1952 and enjoyed 71 loving, devoted years together. Bill was ordained a Baptist minister in 1953. They pastored Baptist churches in Bennington, OK; Josephine, TX; and Idabel, OK. While Bill was attending Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX, Wilma was Director of the Baptist Student Union at Southeastern State University from 1955 to 1957. The State Baptist Student Union annual convention was held on the Southeastern campus in 1956.  While living in Idabel, Wilma taught school. In 1967, she oversaw the pilot program for Head Start in Southeastern Oklahoma. In 1965, she organized the Singing Sooners, a patriotic singing group of 20 high school students that went on to be declared the Goodwill Ambassadors for Oklahoma and performed in several states. Bill and Wilma were recognized as Citizens of the Year in Idabel in 1968. That same year they moved to Whitewright, TX with their children when Bill took over the family business, Carl's Sausage Company. In Whitewright, Wilma was active with the library, the Friday Literary Club, the Whitewright Historical Society, and the Chamber of Commerce.  Wilma spent her final teaching years as a substitute teacher in Whitewright; she loved working with students. Wilma served on the Reba Gala Committee with Texoma Medical Center raising money for the Reba House and the Reba Rehab Center along with numerous other projects.  Wilma was listed in the publication Outstanding Young Women of America in 1968 and also in Outstanding Citizens of the South. She was recognized as Whitewright Citizen of the Year twice, in 1970 and then in 2000. Wilma enjoyed doing research and writing, compiling family histories, Holy Land Study Guides, and local history, including the history of Whitewright. A special joy was leading Bible Study groups.  Her first trip to the Holy Land was in 1964. After moving to Whitewright, she and Bill started taking groups to the Holy Land which became their ministry. Nineteen years ago, she was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. She prayed to live long enough to take the group she had ready to go to Israel. Not only did she take that group, but God also allowed her to take more than 20 additional groups. Over 54 years Bill and Wilma took more than 50 groups to the Holy Land, also making trips by themselves during that time, too. In January 2018, they took their final tour. Many lifelong friendships were created and solidified in these groups. Additionally, Bill and Wilma were blessed to be able to visit 35 different countries and nearly all 50 states.  Wilma leaves a loving legacy of four generations. As important and substantial as her earthly accomplishments, Wilma's greatest legacies were how she lived her life, contributed to her community, and loved her family.  Words cannot express the appreciation for the care and personal attention given to Wilma by Dr. Minaxi Rathod, Dr. Tammie Roque, and the oncology staff at Texoma Oncology.  Preceding her in death were her parents William & Lois Kimberlin Freeman, husband Bill McFatridge, and granddaughter Jasmin James. Surviving her are children Martha McFatridge Bryant, Mari McFatridge, and Carl McFatridge. Grandchildren include Katie Bryant Moncrief, Elisabeth Bryant Drabkin, Ruth Bryant Bell, Jamie Don Jones, Nancy Fogleman, Alex Verner, Bobby Guest, Kaitlin McFatridge, Carl (Buck) McFatridge, Veeral & Anar Rathod, and Umang & Anand Shaw. She is survived by seventeen great-grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren. Sons-in-laws include Jim Bryant and Bud Scott as well as daughter-in-law Melanie McFatridge. She is also survived by brothers Bill Freeman and Vince Freeman and sister Helen Hessom.  Services will be held on Saturday, September 14, 2024 at the First Baptist Church located in Whitewright, Texas. Visitation will begin at 11 am with the service following at noon. For those unable to attend in person, the service will be available on a live stream via First Whitewright's FaceBook page and on the website www.firstwhitewright.com.