Edna "Tiny" Lona Easton-Mitchell

Edna Lona (Tiny) Easton Mitchell was born in her grandparents’ house north of Knowles, Oklahoma, on November 4, 1915, the daughter of Anna Ethel (Bond) Easton and Truman Elijah Easton. She died of C.O.P.D. and complications of a stroke in Midland, TX, on April 22, 2018, in the Vogel memory care unit at the Village at Manor Park. She was 102 years, 5 months, and 18 days old. Having lost her mother at the age of three in the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918, Tiny and her brother, Leslie, and sister, Lois, grew up in Knowles under the care of a loving father and surrounded by a community of relatives and friends. The entire town took them in and supervised when their carpenter father had to be gone building houses and barns throughout the Oklahoma Panhandle. Tiny graduated as Salutatorian of the Knowles High School Class of 1934, and several days later eloped with John L. Mitchell of Forgan, Oklahoma. That union would last 67 years. They became part of the Dust Bowl Okie migration to California during the Dirty Thirties and lived in Azusa, CA, until the drought broke and they could return to the farm in 1941. John was a cattleman and sharecropper for the Barby Ranch of Beaver County, and they farmed north of Forgan until their retirement in the mid-1970s. Small town life as a farmer’s wife found Tiny involved in Garden Club, Mothers’ Club, and as an avid league bowler. She was baptized as a member of the First Baptist Church of Forgan where she taught Sunday School for many years and held several offices in the Women’s Missionary Union. Her specialty dishes of scalloped potatoes and homemade pies were a hit at every church covered dish meal. Tiny and John became the parents of three children, Leslie, Jim, and Teresa and were enthusiastic supporters of all Forgan School activities. Tiny spent countless hours as a room mother and served up hamburgers and fries in the school concession stand. She said that it brought back memories of her own high school days of playing basketball for Knowles High. She was the second center when the court was divided into 3 sections and the girls had to wear skirts as part of their uniforms. Tiny always regretted that she was not able to attend college, so she and John made sure that their children had a higher education. It was a source of great pride to them that all three of their children were graduates of the University of Oklahoma and that they began 5 generations of Mitchells that are Sooner born and Sooner bred. Retirement provided Tiny and John with the opportunity to travel across the western USA pulling their 5th wheel travel trailer. They enjoyed traveling with friends and relatives and eventually settled near friends at Taylor’s Island View on the shores of Lake Texoma. Tiny was happiest when the kids and grandkids visited to waterski and fish and she could fry up a mess of catfish for a big family dinner. When life at the lake was no longer possible, Tiny and John moved to south Oklahoma City for 10 years and then to Midland, TX. After John’s death in 2002, Tiny said that she wanted to see as much of the country as possible while she still could travel. She marveled at the glaciers in Alaska, and watched surfers off the Hawaiian coast. She attended the Changing of the Guard at Arlington Cemetery, and saw whales breaching in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego. A highlight at the age of 88 was taking her first and last hot air balloon ride which ended in a crash landing on a logging road in the San Juan National Forest. She never missed a beat during that emergency and just bent her knees as instructed and braced for impact. Tiny began to show symptoms of memory loss at the age of 90, and she and Teresa moved into the retirement community of the Village at Manor Park in Midland. She soon established quite a reputation for her agility in the exercise classes and her expertise at Wii bowling. She made the Wellness Center Wall of Fame with a high score of 268. Her positive attitude and sweet smile caused her to be a favorite with both residents and staff members. She was 98 when she entered the Vogel Unit for memory loss, where she was spoiled and cared for by a remarkable staff of caregivers with gigantic hearts. Tiny loved her room with the big window (even though she said, “Not much goes on out there.”) and delighted in discovering that someone made her bed each day and someone else did the dishes! Tiny was the last of her generation on the Easton/Bond side of the family, and she has two living relatives on the Mitchell side. She is survived by her brother-in-law, Cecil, of Beaver, OK, and sister-in- law, Geraldine, of Duncan, OK. Her remaining family members are her children, Leslie and Katheryn of Oklahoma City, Jim and Fran of Beaver, OK, and Teresa of Midland, TX. She has 4 grandsons, Stanley and Carolyn of Katy, TX, John of Taos, NM, Scott and Teressa of Forgan, OK, and Reed and Wendy of Longview, TX. The delight of her later years were her 8 great-grandchildren and 13 great-greats, with another on the way. She loved looking at family pictures and was proud that so many of the little Mitchells had her blue eyes. The family would like to express special appreciation to the staff at Manor Park and especially the Vogel Unit nurses and aides for the loving care they extended to Miss Tiny during her final years. Cindy Marriner, NP, Visiting Angels, and Hospice of Midland oversaw her every need every day during the last months. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Vogel Unit of the Village at Manor Park, 2208 N. Loop 250 West, Midland, TX, 79707, or to Hospice of Midland, 911 W. Texas Ave., Midland, TX, 79701.Services are under the direction of Alan Clark Funeral Home of Beaver, OK, and American Heritage Funeral Home of Midland, TX. The funeral will be held at the First Baptist Church of Forgan, OK, on Friday, the 27th of April at1:30 p.m., and will be conducted by Wayne Moore and Bill Nichols.

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Edna "Tiny" Lona Easton-Mitchell

November 4, 1915 - April 22, 2018