Mary went to be with the Lord in the early morning hours of Jan. 28, 2013 at home in the presence of her husband of 52 years, Robert (Bob) White. She fought a hard fight against leukemia. The family is so thankful for the nurses at the infusion center, at Stillwater Medical Center, as well as Dr. Terry Brown and nurse Rickae, along with Dr. Koya and all of her friends at the infusion center, St. Francis and St. Johns hospitals in Tulsa, who gave her such good care in her last 20 months.

Mary was born Mary Juanita Bookout on Sept. 9, 1926 in Pawhuska, Okla., the daughter of Charles Robert and Lura Dalton Bookout. After attending school and working at Conoco in Pawhuska, she moved to Stillwater where she was a hairstylist and owner of her own salon for over 50 years. She married the love of her life and soul mate, Robert (Bob) White, on Sept. 16, 1960. They became a happy family of four with her son David and daughter Suzanne.

Mary was a member and past president of Stillwater Lady Elks where she had many friends. She was a member of the Hair Fashion Committee for the state of Okla., and was a member of Kenny Flaming’s Food Liner Bowling Team of Stillwater. She loved bowling, and her team won many trophies and championships. She enjoyed sending birthday and anniversary cards to family and friends, attending the Summer Band Concerts, watching the Community Singers, attending Town and Gown performances, and spending time at the Stillwater Boat Club at Lake Carl Blackwell. Mary was an avid Cowboy fan and enjoyed attending football, wrestling, basketball, and baseball games. She loved attending OSU’s many bowl games and especially enjoyed watching the Cowboy Wrestling Team win so many NCAA Championships. You could say she “bled orange,” having her fingernails and toenails painted OSU orange for many years. Mary also enjoyed many fishing trips to Lake Ouachita with her friends, Hubert and Joyce Walters and Herman and Betty Walters. Mary appreciated her good friend, JoAnne Elsner, who, for 20 months, supplied baked goods and meals to her and Bob each week. Mary also had so many special friends, which included Renae Almos, Kenneth and Edith Flaming, Jeanne Cook, Bob and Sara Bickle, and Jim and Judith Smith, who Mary thought of as a second daughter.

She was preceded in death by her parents and two sisters, Bernice and Marie.

She is survived by her husband, Bob; children: David LeBaron and his wife Carol, and Suzanne LeBaron Golay; grandchildren: Emily Beers and her husband David, David Williams, Ashley Knight and her husband Rusty, and Kristy Golay Carter; great-grandchildren: Nicole, Korbyn, Zen, Zella, Maddox, Ava, and Daxton; sisters: Joan Lemon and her husband John, and Charlene Soard; brother: Chuck Bookout and his wife Janice; and sisters-in-law: Dorothy Hammond and Nancy Sloan.  

Funeral Services will be at 2:00 pm, Thursday, Jan. 31st, 2013 at the First United Methodist Church of Stillwater at 7th and Duck; Mike Chaffin officiating. The family will receive friends on Wednesday, Jan. 30th from 6:00-8:00 pm at Strode Funeral Home in Stillwater.

Donations and/or contributions can be made in Mary’s name to the Oklahoma State University Athletics Department at P.O. Box 1749, Stillwater, OK 74076.

Condolences may be sent and an online obituary viewed by visiting www.strodefh.com.