Obituary of Edna Armstrong

Edna Mardell (Smyth) Armstrong, 88, died on Wednesday, September 9, 2009 in Tulsa, OK. Mrs. Armstrong was born Jun 3, 1921 in Marshall, Arkansas the daughter of Robert Garland and Florence (Greenhaw) Smyth. She was the third of seven children. Mardell graduated as the Valedictorian of Marshall High School in 1939. She attended Northeastern State College in Tahlequah where she graduated in 1943 with a Bachelor's degree. She returned to Marshall and taught Home Economics in the high school from 1943 until 1948. She also opened and supervised Marshall's first school cafeteria. Mardell married Theron Ottis Armstrong May 5, 1946 and he preceded her in death on October 18, 2006 after 60 years of marriage. Their daughter Sandra was born in 1950. After the family moved to Tulsa, OK in 1952, Mardell resumed her teaching career at Keystone High School in 1956. From 1957 to 1979 Mardell taught various elementary grades at the Mingo Independent School District, Tulsa County while earning an elementary teaching certificate and a Masters' in Education (1962) from the University of Tulsa. Mardell was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma, an educators' sorority, and she was selected as the 1977 Tulsa County Teacher of the Year. She was a member of St. Mark's United Methodist Church. Upon retirement, Mardell and Ottis moved to Wagoner, OK where they lived until 2005. Mardell was a member of Wagoner County Retired Teachers, Lelietta Extension Club and the Wildflower Club of Wagoner. She and Ottis enjoyed fishing, gardening, and traveling the states. Mardell spent her last years at Ambassador Courtyards and Manor. Her family wants to gratefully thank the staff at Ambassador as well as Grace Hospice for all their kindness and care during Mom's last weeks. Mardell is survived by her daughter: Sandra Curington and her husband Robert of Tulsa; her grandchildren: Sarah Wilbanks (Ryan) and Jeremy Curington (Jenna); her great-grandchildren Catherine Curington and Miriam Wilbanks; her sister: Bernell Smith of Little Rock, AR; her brothers: Glee Smyth (Kay) of Benton, AR, Robert Smyth of Tulsa, OK, and Kenneth Smyth (Willodean) of Marshall, AR; her sister-in-law: Lula Smyth of Marshall, AR; her aunt: Bonnie Christy of Yelville, AR as well as many nieces and nephews. Service will be 2:00 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14th at Centenary United Methodist Church with interment in the Pioneer Cemetery, Wagoner, OK. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that any memorial donations be made to Centenary UMC, 631 N. Denver, Tulsa, OK 74106.&nbsp; To make an online contribution please click on the link below: <span style="font-family: 'helvetica','sans-serif'; color: #721819; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'times new roman'; mso-ansi-language: en-us; mso-fareast-language: en-us; mso-bidi-language: ar-sa"><a href="http://www.epartnersingiving.com/ednamardellsmytharmstrong" target="http://www.epartnersingiving.com/ednamardellsmytharmstrong ">http://www.epartnersingiving.com/ednamardellsmytharmstrong</a></span> <span style="font-family: 'times new roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'times new roman'; mso-ansi-language: en-us; mso-fareast-language: en-us; mso-bidi-language: ar-sa"> </span> <p></p>