Mary Sanderson

Mary Jeanette Roberts Sanderson was born September 19, 1921 in Orr, Oklahoma to Paul Kimberlin Kim Roberts and Bessie Mae Rodgers Roberts. She went to heaven on December 14, 2009, where she was greeted by her parents, her brother Jerry Roberts, her husband of 59 years, Luther Leland Sanderson, the grandson she raised, Phillip Wayne Inman, and by her best friend, housemate, and daughter, Myrna Louise Teague.

Jeanette lived most of her early life in Love County, Oklahoma in and around the town of Orr which was founded by her grandfather, Isaac Preston Squire Roberts. She took great pride in her family connections, particularly her kinship to two founding Texans and their families: Thomas Jefferson Roberts and Colonel Jesse Walling.

When she was in her early teens, Jeanette became an entertainer, singing and dancing for audiences in Ardmore and surrounding areas. She often appeared on KVSO Ardmore Radios Voice of Southern Oklahoma program, where she sang the previous weeks most popular tunes in what the Daily Ardmorite called a rich voice. She also taught dance in Miss Alice Offuts Ardmore studio. In 1936, Jeanette was twice invited to film screen tests for the Mary Pickford-Lasky motion picture company. She was also the 1936 Miss Ardmore and, in the same year, was awarded Miss Congeniality in the Miss Oklahoma competition.

Jeanette and Luther married in 1939 in Winfield, Kansas and afterwards made their home in southern Oklahoma, later moving to Chickasha and then, in 1944 when the Big Yank blue jean factory where Luther worked relocated to Wewoka, the Sandersons moved with it. Jeanette lived in Wewoka until 1980. During that time she worked at Lillian Russell and garment factory, raised her three children, and served as a second mother for many of her grandchildren. While living in Wewoka, Jeanette discovered another talent when she began to paint. She won awards from the Sorghum Day Art Festival, the Tri-City Starving Artists Show, the Seminole County Fair, and the Permian Basin Fair and Exposition for her oil paintings, and was known for her expressive landscapes.

After retiring, Jeanette and Luther spent time at their place on Eufaula Lake and traveling around the country in their RV. They settled for a while in Odessa, and after Luther passed away, Jeanette lived in Lewisville and Flower Mound, Texas before relocating to Norman, OK in 2004. She was a long-time member of the Methodist Church, and her membership remains with Chinns Chapel United Methodist Church in Copper Canyon, Texas.

Jeanette, whose father called her alternately Jenny and The Little Red Hen, was both feisty and fun-loving. She was a voracious reader, and continued reading even after she lost her sight, ordering the monthly limit of books from the Texas and Oklahoma Libraries for the Blind. She was always dressed to the nines, in smart clothes and matching shoes; her homes were gracefully appointed and tastefully decorated. Jeanette loved to fish almost as much as she loved to tell stories, and she delighted in telling the tale of out-fishing a boat full of men during a salmon fishing excursion. The silence left in the wake of her passing will linger for a long time.
PJeanette is survived by her sister, Gloria Stangle and her husband E. C. of St. George, Utah and her brother, P. K. Roberts and wife Gail of Austin, TX; by her sons, Larry Sanderson and his wife Linda of Shawnee, OK and Roger Sanderson of San Jose, Costa Rica; by her grandchildren and their families, Cindy Kuykendall and husband Mike of Odessa, TX, Jeanetta Calhoun Mish and husband Kyran of Norman, OK, Larry Sanderson, Jr., and wife Renee of Arlington, TX, Nancy Mathis Bryant and fianc Kenny Johnson of Norman, OK, Brad Sanderson and wife Jacque of Midlothian, TX, Kristy Weaver and husband Chuck of Southlake, TX, Jason Sanderson and wife Laura of Canton, TX, Enid Hernandez of Edmond, OK, and Robert Sanderson of Tulsa, OK, Amy Lynn Moon and husband Mike of Shawnee, OK; by her cousins, the Roberts, Steele, and Hodges families of Love and Carter Counties and by her cousin Jeanne Stump of Ferris, TX. She is also survived by 16 great-grandchildren and 2 great great-grandchildren and innumerable nieces and nephews. Jeanette will be buried with her husband following a graveside service on Friday, December 18, at 3 p.m. at st1:PlaceNam

Service

Cemetery