Mary Phyllis Spence

Mary Phyllis Kirkendall Ranson Spence was born to Lindley Hill Kirkendall and Zoa Edith Martin Kirkendall on July 25, 1938, on the family farm right on the Alfalfa/Major County line between Aline and Cleo Springs, Oklahoma, and died Wednesday, December 2, 2020 in Enid, Oklahoma. Her funeral will be Tuesday, December 8, 2020, at 1:00 at First Assembly of God Church, 905 N. Oakwood, Enid, OK, under the direction of Anderson-Burris Funeral Home, Enid, with Rev. Dan Barrick officiating. There will be a visitation on Monday, December 7th at the funeral home from 6:00-7:00 pm. Burial will be at Fairview Cemetery, Fairview, Oklahoma. Mary attended Ruby one-room school house and was salutatorian of Cleo Springs High School in 1956. After high school, Mary attended Enid Business College. In 1957, Mary married Ervan Teske. They had four children together. She worked at Bank Lumber then Union Equity Cooperative Exchange in Human Resources until her retirement in 1990. In May 1990, Mary married Dean Ranson. They made their home in Fairview, Oklahoma. Dean passed away in June 2007. Mary then moved back to Enid. Mary attended First United Methodist Church in Enid where she met Ret. Major General Clyde W. Spence. They married in December 2009 and made their home in Williamsburg, Virginia. Clyde passed away in July 2020. Mary returned to Enid in August. Mary absolutely loved working at Union Equity where she was lovingly referred to as “Mother Mary” and gained many lifelong friends. Mary also loved being involved in United Methodist Women’s Association, serving as president. Mary enjoyed volunteering, giving her time at ST. Mary’s Hospital, reading at Fairview Fellowship Home, helping with after school care at Fairview United Methodist Church, and helping at Williamsburg Respite Care. She also served as president of Arkansas-Oklahoma Professional Secretary’s Association and served on the board of The Commons United Methodist Retirement Community. Mary was a member of PEO Chapter DB. Her greatest joy, though, were her children and grand children. Mary was preceded in death by her parents, husbands, her daughter, Kimberly (Teske) Jobes, and brothers, Robert, Charles, and David Kirkendall. Mary is survived by three children, Terry and Karen Teske of Kingfisher, Dr. Timothy and Lisa Teske of Enid, and Sherri (Teske) and Dan West of Enid; ten grandchildren, Sarah (Jobes) Clark, Melissa (Teske) Sierra, Terri (Teske) Fuller, Andrew Teske, Kendall Teske, Byron West, Maggie (West) Powell, Clay West, Krista (Shaver) Herrera, and Chad Shaver, fifteen great grandchildren: Elijah, Brooklynn, Aubrey, Sadie, Declan, Cole, Remington, Hardy, Caleb, Allie, John, Dale, Jacob, William, and Jayden; and one great, great grandchild, Lila Mae. Dean’s children, Rita and Jeral Cain of Fort Worth, TX and sons, Jeff and Bradley, and Janis and Bob Johnson of Yorktown, VA, and sons, David and Michael. Clyde’s children Kevin and Suzy Spence of Sarasota, Florida, and daughters, Georgia and Shannon, Donald and Holly Greene of Daytona Beach, Florida, and son Scotty; and Craig and Heather Kennedy of Potomac, Maryland, and daughters, Caroline and Ava. Three sisters, Virginia Phillips, Carolyn Dietz, Betty Garinger, and sister-in-law, Lydia Kirkendall. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation or American Diabetes Association.

Mary Phyllis Spence

July 25, 1938 - December 2, 2020