Obituary for Anita Scholey

Anita Elizabeth Scholey

July 20, 1946 – April 15, 2019

After her courageous fight with cancer, Anita Elizabeth (Robinson) Scholey passed away in the early morning hours of April 15, 2019, surrounded by her loving family. She was 72 years old.

Anita was born the tenth child to Charles and Virginia Robinson on July 20, 1946 in Madison, IN. As a teenager she worked at Roger’s Drugstore, was voted prom queen of her senior class and graduated from Madison Consolidated High School in 1964.

Anita’s classic love story began in the spring of April 1964 when she met John Allen Scholey while he was on a blind date with another girl. Shortly after they met, the attraction between Anita and John quickly grew and they married on September 5, 1964. While living in Madison, Indiana, Anita worked at a shoe factory while John was a welder and a farmer. There they were blessed with four children; Virginia “Jenny” Scholey, John William Scholey, Charles Allen Scholey, and Robert Fredrick Scholey. They lived in Madison until 1981 when they moved to Woodward, OK for work and while there they were blessed with another baby, Joseph Michael Scholey. A career change for John from welding to an insurance agent had them moving to Ponca City, OK where they have resided since 1984. Five children and countless memories were made during the 54 years of marriage between these two best friends.

Anita held many jobs throughout her life, from the drugstore, a shoe factory, St. Joseph Hospital, Tyson Foods, and back to the hospital at Ponca City Medical Center. Through her different job titles, the most enjoyment was found at the hospital cafeteria where she worked until February 2018 when she was diagnosed with cancer. During the 15 years she worked at the hospital, Anita worked in all areas of the kitchen, in the dietary office, and the food line in the cafeteria. She enjoyed meeting new people and would talk to anyone that she came in contact with, talking like she had known them forever. She truly had never met a stranger. However, anyone that had ever talked to her can tell you that she shined the brightest when she talked about her kids and grandkids.
With five children growing up at various ages, Anita was always seeing many new faces come through her door. She had a large caring heart that she shared with everyone she met; quickly becoming another mom to all of her children’s friends as they came over and never seemed to want to leave. She was never one to turn someone away if they needed a couch to sleep on or food to eat, no matter the length of time they needed it.

Anita loved her family, Easter egg hunts, watching her grandsons run track, play football, basketball, and baseball and playing bingo with her special friends Linda and Jennifer. Year after year she never thought there was going to be enough Easter eggs for her grandchildren to hunt despite the fact that they always came home with multiple bags full of candy and small toys. Up until she became sick, Anita never missed an evening baseball game or Saturday morning basketball game her grandsons played, often giving them money for homeruns and baskets. Bingo was another passion of hers. Time and again she could be seen playing with multiple cards, many, many different colored daubers, and her Styrofoam cup filled with Coke Zero ready to play. She was very quick to tell you to turn that dauber cap over so your luck didn’t run out.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Charles and Virginia, four brothers, three sisters, and one grandson, Joseph Allen Scholey.

She is survived by her loving husband, John Allen Scholey, of the home, 5 children; Virginia “Jenny” Putman and husband Tom, John W Scholey and wife Sarah, Charles Scholey, Robert “Fred” Scholey and wife Kim, and Joseph “Joe” Scholey, all of Ponca City, OK, 9 grandchildren; Thomas Putman III and wife Janelle, of Ponca City, OK, Tim Putman and Becca Wright, of Essexville, MI, Ashley Putman and Jordan Synder, of Oklahoma City, OK, Dawson Scholey, Lane Scholey, Carter Scholey, Aiden Scholey, Kennedy Scholey, and Olivia Scholey, 3 great-grandchildren; Thomas Putman IV, Gage Putman, both of Ponca City, and Leah Putman of Essexville, MI, and one on the way. She is also survived by 2 sisters; Polly Stewart of Madison, IN and Rosie Ball of Hanover, IN, numerous nieces and nephews and many, many friends from work and bingo.

The family would like to give thanks to all of her friends that stopped by to see her or sent cards for her to read that she had promptly hung on the wall. The amount of love shown to this special lady will never be forgotten. A very heartfelt thank you from the family goes to her boss Joel and all of Anita’s hospital family, Dr. Melinda Allen and staff, the entire Family Discount Pharmacy staff, Precise Home Healthcare, Hospice of North Central Oklahoma and Grace Memorial Chapel.

The family would be honored for you to join the celebration of Anita’s life on Saturday, May 4th, 2019 any time from 12:30-3:30p.m at the First Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall in Ponca City.