Obituary for Mary Irwin

Mary Irwin

July 3, 1925 – May 25, 2016

Mary Leona Irwin passed away at ManorCare Nursing Home in Tulsa, OK on May 25, 2016. A service to celebrate her life will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, June 10, 2016 at Grace Memorial Chapel with Rev. Rick Hughes officiating. Burial will follow in the Odd Fellows Cemetery under the direction of Grace Memorial Chapel.

Mary was born July 3, 1925 on the family farm in Osage County east of Ponca City to Earnest M. Davis and Alice (Hurst) Davis. She was the youngest of the five children in her family. Mary attended McCord School for her early education and she rode her horse Shorty to and from school every day. Once she was at school, the horse was sent home. When the school day was nearly over, her parents sent her horse back to school to bring her home. Later Mary attended and graduated from Ponca City Senior High.

On July 31, 1943, Mary married Robert (Bob) Irwin. The couple spent the first several years of their marriage living in Ponca City. In 1946, they bought their first farm several miles west of Kaw City where they farmed and raised cattle. Mary was not only a wife, mother, and homemaker, but she was also a true partner in the farming operation. Since her husband Bob also worked through the years for Cities Service, Sequoyah, and later Conoco Oil Companies as a welder, like many farm wives; Mary was often called into action to help in any way needed on the farm. That included herding cattle, mending fence, driving a tractor or wheat truck, and then cooking large midday meals for a crew of harvest or hay workers. They were forced to move from their Kay County farm in 1967 when construction of the Kaw Dam and Reservoir began. They relocated to a farm in Osage County, east of Ponca City where they continued to farm and raise cattle until 1995 when due to health issues they moved to their home in Ponca City.

Survivors include her son Martin (Marty) Irwin and his wife Pam of Ponca City; her daughter Marilyn Irwin Perciful of Ponca City; her daughter Paula Irwin Scott and her husband Jim of Broken Arrow, Ok; and her daughter Sharon Irwin Jones and her husband Dwight of Burke, VA. In addition, she has eight grandchildren: Adam Perciful and his wife Alecia of Ponca City; Amy Perciful of Oklahoma City, OK; Aaron Peddicord of Ponca City; Alex Peddicord of Ponca City; Kyle Scott of Tulsa, OK; Brian Scott and his wife Melissa of Broken Arrow, OK; Rachel Jones Domencic and her husband Christopher of Leesburg, VA; Sarah Jones Helman and her husband Andrew of Herndon, VA. Also there are seven great-grandchildren: Broden, Braily, and Braden Perciful; Noelle Scott; Nicholas, Brayden, and Jordan Domencic.

Mary was preceded in death by her husband of 71 years, Bob; her parents; three brothers, Kenneth Davis and Orvis (Hug) Davis and Merle Davis; one sister, Gertrude Davis Dodson; and infant great-granddaughters, Angelina and Savannah Domencic.

A visitation of family and friends will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, June 9, 2016 at Grace Memorial Chapel

Pall bearers will be Marty Irwin, Kyle Scott, Brian Scott, Adam Perciful, Alex Peddicord, and Aaron Peddicord. Honorary pallbearers will be Jim Scott and Dwight Jones.