Marilyn Sue McBride

Marilyn McBride was born on February 18, 1936, at the Fairfax hospital on the Osage Indian Reservation in Oklahoma. Belying the frigid -2 degree temperature, Marilyn’s immediate fire and tenacity set the stage for the rest of her life. Marilyn’s parents, Delmer and Elvira Drake, started a Five-and-Dime discount store on Fairfax’s main street. Marilyn and her sister Donis worked in the store, where they learned about business and how to serve others (and enjoyed the fully stocked candy case--Maire’s love of chocolate continued right up to her final days). Marilyn graduated from Fairfax High School in 1954. She earned a B.A. in elementary education from Oklahoma State University in 1958. While at OSU, she was elected social chair of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. She also met Don M. McBride Jr., who she married on November 23, 1960. Marilyn served as a public school teacher for several years. She and Don later settled in Bartlesville, where they had two children, Suzanne and Mike. The family made their home in town for several decades, and then in 1980, Marilyn and Don moved back to the Osage, to a small ranch with several ponds, woods and a beautiful Osage Hills view. Marilyn loved to go ‘junking,’ especially visiting old printing companies in small towns and buying out their stocks of printer’s trays and type. She created a very successful crafts business, Printer’s Paraphernalia, which she ran for decades out of the back of her home and later in the barn on the Osage. She loved to travel to shows and visit family and friends around the country. Maire loved to play tennis. Even in her older age, she “schooled” many a younger player with her cunning skills. She played so much she eventually wore out two knees, but got replacements later in life. She also loved the intellectual challenge of playing bridge with friends. She volunteered for the Bartlesville Service League for many years, including supporting the ‘Bargain Box.’ Marilyn had a wide circle of friends, many life-long. She had a delightful sense of humor, a great way with words, and a very generous heart. She was loyal to her friends and to her causes. Maire loved adventure and to travel. She was a hodophile. She and Don traveled to Colombia several times to fish for the mysterious and elusive golden bass. They also liked to fish for bass and crappie in Kansas on the Martin Ranch and in Oklahoma. They traveled to Canada, Mexico, Portugal and all over Africa. She later traveled with her children to Ireland, Scotland, and Italy. Marilyn had a quirky side as well. For some years, she had a full-size mannequin she kept in her car’s front passenger seat. She dressed him up with a cap, sunglasses and her son’s OU Law School sweatshirt, and she named him Fred. Fred, we guess, made her feel more secure when she was traveling alone. One time she had Fred in the trunk. A grocery sacker helping her to the car got quite a shock when he opened the trunk to put the groceries in. She was a live wire with a strong and biting wit. It was “her way or the highway.” She was always in control. Except for one thing: in God she found purpose and a guiding hand. As Maire wrote: “Our god does not impose himself where he is uninvited. He does respond to need and brokenness. His love is sufficient, all forgiving and overwhelming.” She lived her life in faith. She enjoyed taking part in her bible study groups for many decades. She recruited members. After a very blessed and healthy life, in the end, Marilyn succumbed to congestive heart failure the day before Thanksgiving (and her 63rd wedding anniversary) on Nov. 22, 2023. She hated hospitals and was ready to go to heaven. She leaves behind her husband Don; daughter, Suzanne McBride (Dennis Sack) of Boulder, CO; son Mike McBride III (Dawnette Brady) of Tulsa, grandson, Michael McBride IV of Dallas; cousin Virginia Autrey of Enid, OK, sister-in-law Donna Allison of Tulsa; nephew Mark (Peggy) Ashworth of Austin, TX; nieces Mary Freiburger of Norman, OK; Dana (Bland) Williamson of Tulsa; Kelly (Roger) Watson of Las Vegas and Scott (Jacqueline) McBride of Bartlesville. She is pre-deceased by her mother, father and older sister. Marilyn asked that instead of flowers that you consider donating to one of the following in her name: The Journey Home Hospice, Owasso Baptist Children’s Home, First Baptist Church of Bartlesville, Cornerstone Church of Bartlesville, Eldercare--Bartlesville, A Fresh Start Resale Boutique, or a charity of your choice. A memorial celebration of life service will commence at First Baptist Church, 405 Cherokee Avenue, ‘old east sanctuary’, on Monday, December 18th at 2:00 p.m. in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Arrangements are under the direction of Carter Davis and the Davis Family Funeral Home and Crematory Walker-Brown Chapel. Online condolences and remembrances may be shared at www.DavisFamilyFuneralHome.com

Marilyn Sue McBride

February 18, 1936 - November 22, 2023