Gwendolyn A. "Gwen" Steidley

Services to remember and celebrate the life of Gwendolyn A. "Gwen" Steidley will be 11:00 a.m. Friday, October 6, 2023 at the Vessel Church in Claremore. Visitation will be on Thursday evening from 4-7 with family there to receive visitors from 5-7 also at Vessel Church in Claremore. Gwen passed away on Thursday, September 28, 2023 in Claremore. She was 88.

Born in Hulbert, OK in the middle of an Oklahoma dust storm on January 8, 1935 to William L. "Bill" and Florene (Bushman) Barnes. Gwen was raised and educated in the Foyil area and attended Foyil Public Schools. On March 4, 1958 in Claremore, OK Gwen married the love of her life J.D. Steidley in Claremore, OK. A marriage that lasted 65 years until J.D.'s passing in 2022. Their union was gifted with two sons Larry and Dwayne. Gwen helped provide for her family working at several different occupations, i.e., telephone operator, Sipes Grocery Store and Coast to Coast Hardware. Gwen's heart was always in her home where she excelled at being a wife and mother. She truly was the matriarch of the Steidley home.

Family was always a priority for Gwen, she was actively involved in her son's school activities as well as the record keeper for her husband's trucking business. Family gatherings were filled with playing dominoes and cards and if you were lucky enough Gwen's meatloaf and German chocolate cake. When free time did present itself, Gwen was an avid reader. She liked Gothic novels as well as Alfred Hitchcock and Perry Mason mystery novels. Gwen loved to swim and had a nice built-in swimming pool at her house that gave everyone hours of entertainment. She kept it meticulous and the water was always sparkling. According to her boys when the day came that she did not want to spend the time maintaining the pool the solution was easy; Gwen just arranged to have it filled in with dirt. Gwen liked music, sharing a birthday with Elvis Presley it should be no surprise that he was one of her favorite artists. She liked the Platters as well and many times their music could be heard throughout her home. Growing up her boys remember her canning many different fruits and vegetables. They also remember the shopping trips to Froug's Department store in Tulsa. No story about Gwen would be complete unless you mentioned her love of fast sporty cars and her pets. The cars were usually red in color and some of her favorites were her GTO and Trans Am. Her lab Hunter and her cats brought her countless hours of enjoyment.

Gwen's legacy will live on in the lives of her family and friends. She is survived by her sons, Larry Steidley and wife Glenna and Dwayne Steidley and wife Teresa, grandchildren, Robert Steidley and Terrence Steidley, great grandson, Robert Paul Steidley, sister, Judy Lee Stone. Gwen was preceded in death by her parents and husband J.D. Steidley.