Delora Simpkins Mealor

Delora Jennings Simpkins Mealor passed from this life on January 16, 2026, at her home in Saint Ann’s Assisted Living, with family and friends at her bedside. She was 102 years and 10 months old. Delora was born on March 24, 1923, in Sentinel, Oklahoma to Marlin and Ruth (Huckaby) Jennings. Her father was a farmer in the Retrop area and her mother a hard-working farmer’s wife and mother of 5. Delora had 3 older sisters: Velma, Monna, and Doris, and a younger brother Sam. They were a close-knit family, growing up in SW Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression of the 1930’s. Delora said that they always had plenty of food and that her mom often put extra food in their lunch buckets to share with any hungry kids at school. At home, they loved playing cards, dominos, wahoo, and tried hard to win! My cousins and I loved hearing them laughing together and telling stories of growing up on the farm and school on Retrop. Delora met Dow Simpkins at school, and married him in 1941, after she graduated high school. She moved to Wichita, KS where he had a job at the Cessna plant. He had a place rented for them to live in a lady’s home boarding house- her first time to live in a home with indoor plumbing and electricity! She was 18 years old, away from home for the first time, didn’t know anyone, and often took the train from Wichita to Elk City to see family and friends. They lived several places over the years, and moved to Lone Wolf in 1960, when Dow’s job with Farmer’s Home Administration transferred him to the Hobart office. They had 34 years together. They had 1 baby girl who died at birth, and raised 2 daughters, Anne and Becky. Anne died at age 49, from heart disease, in 2000. Dow died suddenly from a heart attack at age 56. Anne and husband Mark Ford had one daughter, Christa, who was Delora’s only granddaughter. They were very close and lived together for several years. Becky and husband Neil Garrison had no children but had many animals that Delora enjoyed. She loved animals and had several interesting pets including a prairie dog named Bo-Bo, a pig named Olivia, a sheep named Booger, a sheep named Gussie, and all the family’s dogs and cats over the years, that chose her to be their favorite person. Delora married Allan Mealor in 1984. They both enjoyed family and friend get-togethers, card games, sleeping in, and traveling. They took several fun trips and cruises where they often roamed around the ships late at night and got invited to crew parties, which were always a high point of their trips. She and Allan had 20 years of marriage, when he passed away in 2004. His daughter Dorothy and grandson Jimmy have always remained close with our family. Delora had many interesting jobs including hoeing and picking cotton, raising orphaned sheep, being a long distance telephone operator, running a photography studio, teaching swimming for Lone Wolf School, and at Quartz Mountain Lodge, and girl scout camp during the summers, running the Lone Wolf Tag Agency, being an apartment manager in OKC, and working in Wiley Post Airport- where she once met President Jimmy Carter! Her most exciting and challenging job was being a “Rosie the Riveter” at Cessna-Boeing Plant in Wichita, KS after Dow left his job there in 1943 for pilot training in WW2. She climbed a tall ladder and handled the heavy rivet gun, working on tail sections of B-52’s and B-17 Bombers. The plant was running 24 hours a day to support the war effort, and she often worked the night shift. She said it was important to do a perfect job because Dow may fly in a plane that she worked on. She took the work boots for her parents to see- her dad asked what she wore on her head to protect it and she answered, “A hair net.” HE just shook his head and walked away! Delora received special recognition for being a “Rosie” in December 2024 at a big celebration in Tulsa to honor Oklahoma women in aviation and aerospace, and she was awarded the “Pearl of the Year” award. In 2017, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution to mark March 21 as “National Rosie the Riveter Day”. On March 13, 2025, Delora was honored at the state capital and was presented a citation in honor of the “Pear of the Year” award, and “2025 Rosie the Riveter Day” recognition. She was treated like royalty and loved every minute of it. Special thanks to her great niece, Crystal Campbell, and our new friend Sandra Shelton, who were instrumental in this recognition for Delora. She always said that her favorite job was being a mom, and she was great at it, being involved in activities like 4-H, school trips, girl scouts, family vacations, music lessons, attending church, and always welcoming friends and family to our home, any day, any time. Delora was a member of the Lone Wolf Methodist Church and Surrey Hills Baptist Church. She loved Hymns, the fellowship of bible studies, Sunday school, and the friends who she met for breakfast on Tuesday mornings. Delora was well known for her witty sense of humor, generosity, quick smile, and giving the best hugs! She enjoyed wearing pretty clothes, jewelry, red lipstick, mani-pedis, family parties, hair appointments, funny stories, dark chocolate, red wine, and margaritas. She was often late for… everything, and said, “If you get there early, you have to wait for the late people, so might as well be late.” Big smile and a wink. There were lots of memorable changes in her lifetime including indoor plumbing and electricity, TV’s, microwave ovens, computers, air conditioners, cell phones, airline traveling, and fast-food places! We want to give a special “Thank you” to the staff at Saint Ann’s for their patience and love, and to Alara Home Health and Hospice for their care and expertise. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Macular Degeneration Research/ Bright Focus. Delora requested that her favorite color, red, be worn at her service. Celebration of life for Delora will be held on Tuesday, February 10, 2026, 1:00 P.M., at Surrey Hills Baptist Church, Yukon, Oklahoma, with Pastor Brett Selbey officiating. Online condolences for Delora can be made by visiting www.peoplescooperativefuneralhome.com .

Delora Simpkins Mealor

March 24, 1923 - January 16, 2026

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Delora Simpkins Mealor

March 24, 1923 - January 16, 2026

365 Days of Grief Support

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