A spunky music lover and an infinitely creative soul, Elma Jean Stiles (nee Schmidt) passed from this life on December 22, 2022, to join her beloved Savior, whom she served her whole life, on streets of gold. Born in Barnsdall, Oklahoma, on May 26, 1933, Jean (as she preferred to be called) graduated from Barnsdall High School and worked for Phillips Petroleum in Bartlesville as a young woman. In 1955, Jean joyously married the love of her life, Claude, and traded the surname Schmidt for Stiles. Soon after, Jean become a doting mother to two rascally boys, later returning to school in the 70s to earn a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Tulsa in 1974. With her shiny new diploma, Jean began working as a medical technologist at Tulsa’s best area hospitals: St. John, Hillcrest, and the Indian Claremore Hospital. In between raising her sons, traveling with her beloved Claude, and putting in long shifts at the hospital, Jean continued to practice her lifelong love of music on the piano and accordion, as well as quilting and needlework. She also spent countless hours researching and traveled as far as Germany to become a true genealogy master, constructing a family tree that reaches back to 1066. Jean was an active member of Central Baptist Church in Owasso and somehow made time to volunteer with the Hope Pregnancy Center in Tulsa. When Jean’s husband of 65 inseparable years passed away in 2021, we know Claude immediately started to prepare a celebration at heaven’s gates to welcome her there. We can only imagine the joy of that reunion this last week! Jean was preceded in death by her parents, Elmer and Naomi Schmidt, as well as her husband Claude Stiles. She is survived by her sons, Rick Stiles and his wife Lisa, and Gary Stiles and wife Judy; and her four gorgeous granddaughters, Elissa Stiles, Raini Stiles, Dana Stiles, and Alexandra Waits and husband Lewis.
In lieu of flowers, the family request donations to Central Baptist Church in Owasso or Hope Pregnancy Center in Tulsa.
