A2 - THE PERKINS JOURNAL, Thursday, September 5, 2013
People
Velma Jean Zeller Sanders
1931-2013
Velma Jean Zeller Sand-
ers, 81, Of Stillwater,
Oklahoma passed away
on August 24,
2013. She was
born on Novem-
ber 29, 1931 in
Keats, Kansas
to Kenneth and
Lois Zeller. On
March 26, 1950,
Velma was
united in mar-
riage to Harold
Thomas "Tom" Sanders in
Onega, Kansas. They have
five children together.
Velma worked in sales
and management for
Avon from 1958 until
1977 before becoming
co-owner of Countryside
Studios where she pursued
her love of art. She was a
very accomplished artist
who won many awards
for her oil paintings. She
served as president and
officer for the Stillwater Art
Guild and was a member of
the Ponca City Art Guild.
Velma took a very active
role in her church commu-
nity throughout her life.
She was a member of The
Order of the Daughters of
the King and the Order of
SaintJLuke the Physician
where she served as con-
vener in Oklahoma. At St.
Andrews Episcopal Church,
Velma led the prayer and
healing ministries, was a
Lay Eucharistic Minister,
and sang in the choir for
many years. She was also
the first female member of
the Toast Masters Guild of
Stillwater and a member
of the Stillwater Mineral
:: &Gem Society. .....
. :: :,.She:is survived by her
husband, Harold Thomas
Sanders, of Stillwater;
five children: Irene and
spouse John Cook of Lulu,
Florida, John and spouse
Becky Sanders of Morri-
son, Oklahoma, Kathleen
Akin of Austin, Texas,
Leland "Lee" and spouse
Evelyn Sanders of Stillwa-
ter, Oklahoma, and Teresa
and spouse Tim Richmond;
twelve grandchildren:
Kari and spouse Kenneth
Mayon, Stacy and spouse
Bob Fuchs, Kimberly
Bunger, Joshua Kopren,
Leslie and spouse Scott
Terrell, Shaun
and spouse
Tasha Sand-
ers, Sarah and
spouse Darren
Grissom,
Laura and
spouse Joshua
Whitfield,
Kristie and
spouse David
Mendenhall, Heather Sand-
ers, Stephanie and spouse
GK Rossander, Michael
and spouse Anne Sanders,
and Chase Sanders; fif-
teen great-grandchildren:
Jacqueline, Maddison,
Vincent, Brianna, Kyrin,
Grace, Libby, Bailey,
Aidan, Kent, Mary, Mat-
thew, Grace, Zoie and
Preston; two brothers:
Frederick Earl Zeller and
Melvin Zeller and their
families; two sisters:
Marjorie Thompson and
Marilyn Brown and their
families; and the family of
Glenn Zeller.
She was preceded in death
by her father, Kenneth
Zeller; mother, Lois Zeller;
brother, Glenn Zeller; son,
Mark Sanders; and great-
grandchild, Cameron.
Her funeral service was
held at 2:30 p.m. on Sat-
urday, August 31, 2013
at St. Andrews Epsicopal
Church in Stillwater,
Oklahoma with Reverend
James Cook officiating.
Strode Funeral Home was
in charge of arrangements.
HARPER
Continued from Page A1
a little uncomfortable.
But, as I thought about
it, I decided that this
would be an opportunity
for me to say thank you
to the people of Perkins.
I can't think of another
person or family that has
been blessed as much as
my family and we owe
all of our blessings to the
wonderful people in this
great little community!"
She came to Perkins in
October 1959 as a single
mother with three chil-
dren - Bobby (9), Blaine
(6), and Belinda (4).
"I searched high and
low in Stillwater for a
place to live with my
three kids but no one
would rent me a house
or apartment," she said.
"When I started my
search for a home in
Perkins, I was welcomed
with open arms by Rich
and Rose Grimm who
operated Grimm's Cafe
on Main Street. They
had some rental proper-
BURCH
Continued from Page A1
stating this is f ...... b ......
-- the police are here over
those f. ...... rims again," the
affidavit sad.
"Courtney got off her
cell phone and continued
to interrupt every time we
would try to explain what
was going on. Courtney
was cussing and upset," so
the police chief and officer
left, the affidavit said.
Her husband subse-
quently told the police chief
"Courtney didn't steal any
rims and that she scrapped
some rims he gave her,"
the affidavit said. He first
told the chief four rims, and
when advised that five rims
Condolences may be sent were stolen, "he changed
to the family and an obitu- his story to five rims," the
ary viewed byvisiting affidavit alleged.
#
strodefh.com. . "This conflicts, with the
In lieu of flowers, the
family requests donations
be made to St. Andrews
Episcopal Church in
memory of Velma Sanders
at 516 W. 3rd Ave, Stillwa-
ter, OK 74074.
The family would like
to express their gratitude
to Dr. John Williams, Dr.
Arthur Hagan, Dr. Tom
Smith, Cheryl Booten,
Pearl Brown and Judith
Karman Hospice for their
faithful care.
initial contact I had with
Courtney where she stated
she never scrapped any
rims and that she quit scrap-
ping," the officer wrote in his
affidavit.
Later, a Perkins man
arrived with his father at
the Perkins Police Station
to talk to the officer, the
affidavit said.
The Perkins man said that
Burch had come to his resi-
dence and had seen the rims
behind Harris 66 service sta-
ties and rented me a two-
room house on East 2nd
Street."
"The first year, while I
was busy getting started
in my beauty shop,
Belinda stayed with me
during the day. Again,
everyone up and down
Main Street pitched in to
help raise her, including
Ann Spillars, at Sager's
Cleaners. Mrs. Henry,
who owed a dry goods
store in the middle of the
block, would come and
get Belinda almost every
day. She'd say, "Belinda,
you need to come to the
store and see Aunt Cecil
for a while". Mrs. Baker,
who ran the Motel across
the street (where PCB is
now), would take Belinda
to the motel and let her
color and play the piano
in her house for hours at
a time. Of course, Belin-
da' s buddy, Delmar Niles,
who owned Delmar's
Grocery Store (one block
north and then eventually
next door to the Beauty
Shop), frequently kept
her busy in the store.
Among other chores,
Delmar and Bob would
let her stamp the prices
on cans and even help
in the meat department
when she went over to
visit them at the store.
Occasionally, I would
need a loan for operating
costs or personal matters
and I would go see Mr.
Butler at the bank. Del-
bert Butler was president
of the bank and he would
tell me, 'Sis, you go get
what you need, then
come in and we'll take
care of it." I remember
Felsa Hastings always
making me feel welcome
at the bank and of course
Lenora West, also a bank
employee, who became
one of my loyal custom-
ers for many years.
In 1967, she mar-
ried John Harper, a
long-time professional
race horse trainer for
Lee and C.L. Kirk, and
other race horse owners
in Oklahoma and around
the country.
"With the addition of
Johnie, we only thought
the trailer house got
smaller," Harper said.
"But then Lisa Harper
was born. If you're
counting, that's six
people living in an 8' X
37' trailer but it didn't
bother anyone -life was
good.
"I want to thank the
people in this commu-
nity, both past and pres-
ent, for all of the bless-
ings that you have given
me and my family. Over
the years, I have learned
that a Big City and Big
House does not make
a home. Those bigger
things can't compare
to the home that this
small community has
provided for me and
my family. Perkins is
our home and always
will be, and by the way,
you've all helped me
raise some good kids
- Thank You!"
tion, the affidavit said.
He said "Courtney
(Burch) wanted him to steal
the rims, store them, and she
would scrap them, and split
the money with him," the
affidavit alleged.
He said he told her no and
the next day the rims were
gone, the affidavit alleged.
He said that he had previ-
ously gone with her several
times scrapping including
"into Lincoln County around
the back roads of Carney
scrapping stuff people didn't
want left from the tornado,"
the affidavit alleged.
He said they scrapped
a hood off a woman's
property, which he said he
thought they had permis-
sion to take, the affidavit
alleged.
• He said he knew that they
did not have pemfi.'ssion to
take rims from the service
station -- which he said he
would not do "because the
owner is the landlord over
their house," the affidavit
alleged.
According to court
records, three years ago
Burch was charged with
possessing marijuana with
intent to distribute, along
with possessing metham-
phetamine, drug parapherna-
lia and the prescription drug,
alprazolam, all on May 21,
2010, in Perkins.
In that case, Burch
pleaded guilty in 2011 to the
four-count charge and was
placed on 10 years' proba-
tion, court records show.
In August of 2006, Burch
was accused of hitting a
female Payne County jailer
in the chest with her fists, for
which she was placed on five
years' probation in 2007 and
ordered to serve 10 days in
CREC
jail, court records show.
Three months earlier,
Burch had been charged
with hitting a male Still-
water police officer in the
shoulder and arms in May
of 2006, court records show.
That felony charge was
reduced by the prosecution
to obstructing an officer, a
misdemeanor for which she
was placed on probation
for one year, court records
show.
Continued from Page A1
to their families, and that
is a message that cannot be
emphasized enough."
Tebow said meeting par-
ticipants included CREC
and contract line con-
safety handouts and the
Oklahoma Association
of Electric Cooperatives
Safety Manual.
"We had very positive
feedback," Tebow said
of the seminar attendees.
stmction and maintenance "Safety is Something we
crews, rightLof-way Crews,
staking crews, safety coor-
dinators and oil and gas
producers. Information
presented included CREC
yard safety requirements,
safety regulations and
inspection processes. Par-
ticipants were also given
take very seriously and we
don't want to overlook."
Headquartered in Still-
water, CREC is a not-for-
profit electric cooperative
that serves more than
18,000 members in seven
central Oklahoma coun-
ties.
Your Local I~ependent Agent
We've You Covered/
)oldridge, Agent
505 E. wy. 33 • Perkins
547-2900
Don sweet It, do it now. Thle offer mm July I but It only I tm till Au-
gust t11stl Pay no Intermit If paid within 16 nHmth plus trade-in oath
tllowlnoee up to 81,180.
847-8046 Don't sweat it, do it now, This offer only lasts ti, August 31stl [
i . . ~ lit
