Mary Gene (McKinzie) Weber was born February 9th, 1917, in Altus, Oklahoma, the daughter of John and Velma McKinzie. She grew up on a farm near Elmer, Oklahoma, just south of Altus, graduated from Porter High School in Altus and went on to college to study accounting.
She eventually married and became mother to three children, Russell, David and Rosemary, then in the early forties she became a single mother.
Mary was working at Altus Air Base in 1941 when she met an instructor pilot, Lt. Charles Weber. They married in 1942 and somewhat later Charles was reassigned to duty in the Pacific as World War II raged on. Sadly, Charles received a severe, but non-fatal chest wound on the island of Okinawa. He seemed to recover and returned home to Mary and a new daughter, Betty June. Mary and Charles had a second daughter, Nona Camille, and Charles adopted Mary's first three children.
Mary and Charles moved to Belleville, Michigan where they began the new business of a flying school. Mary ran the business end of the school while Charles was the instructor pilot.
Unfortunately, the bullet wound that Charles had recieved during WWII developed into cancer and Mary moved the family back to Oklahoma where she could best care for him. She then began a new business, buying airplanes converted to sprayers and began a new business of agricultural spraying and crop dusting. Sadly, Charles died in 1949 and Mary was once again a single mother, this time with five children to support and educate.
Mary continued the crop dusting business into the mid 1950's, but by then the converted training aircraft which were not designed for this type of service were becoming dangerous. Several others in the business had crashed and when one of Mary's planes crashed it seemed to be the time to do something else. Her business and accounting background enabled her to obtain Civil Service employment at Altus Air Force Base as a supervisor in the Accounting and Finance section of Headquarters Squadron, 11th Bomb Group, Stratigic Air Command.
After several years, Mary left her job at Altus AFB and obtained employment with the US Internal Revenue Department as a tax auditor. She worked in several different locations including Pittsburgh, PA; Anchorage, Alaska; Leyton, Utah; Ventura, CA; Santa Barbara, CA and finally Lawton, Oklahoma.
It was while living and working in Anchorage, that Mary's home was totally destroyed by the Good Friday earthquake. She and daughter June were in downtown Anchorage when the earthquake struck. They were not injured, but they lost nearly everything they had.
Mary experianced another tragedy in the early 1970's. While working in Lawton, she was involved in a near fatal automobile accident. She required many surgeries including facial reconstruction, very successful and still the lovely woman that we all loved. The accident did mean that it was time to retire from government work, so she retired and moved back to Elmer. She bought a house in Altus, had it moved to Elmer and had it rebuilt to her own personal specifications. Mary, always a very colorful personality, claimed that the house had once been a house of "ill repute" and that it had spirits, both friendly and watchful, but always present.
Mary lived most of her life as a very successful single mother. She supported five children, provided funds for college education, saw her two youngest daughters achieve high ranks (Lt.CMDR) with the US Navy.
The nearly lifelong habit of smoking was taking its toll on Mary. By February of 2007 she was critically ill. With her 90th birthday just days away, she vowed to live to see it. Always the fighter and victor, she succeeded. With daughter Rosemary at her bedside, Mary died peacefully and with dignity on February 13th, 2007.
From her Eulogy: Read by Son-In-Law Paul Johnson
SHE LOVED PASSIONATELY
SHE LAUGHED HEARTILY
SHE WORKED WITH ENTHUSIASM
SHE NEVER RETREATED FROM ADVERSITY
SHE FELT BLESSED ALL OF HER LIFE
SHE DIED WITH A DIGNIFIED WILLINGNESS AND ACCEPTANCE
SHE LOVED HER FAMILY WITH ALL HER SOUL
SHE NEVER COMPROMISED HER INTEGRITY OR WHAT SHE BELIVED IN. EVER!
She eventually married and became mother to three children, Russell, David and Rosemary, then in the early forties she became a single mother.
Mary was working at Altus Air Base in 1941 when she met an instructor pilot, Lt. Charles Weber. They married in 1942 and somewhat later Charles was reassigned to duty in the Pacific as World War II raged on. Sadly, Charles received a severe, but non-fatal chest wound on the island of Okinawa. He seemed to recover and returned home to Mary and a new daughter, Betty June. Mary and Charles had a second daughter, Nona Camille, and Charles adopted Mary's first three children.
Mary and Charles moved to Belleville, Michigan where they began the new business of a flying school. Mary ran the business end of the school while Charles was the instructor pilot.
Unfortunately, the bullet wound that Charles had recieved during WWII developed into cancer and Mary moved the family back to Oklahoma where she could best care for him. She then began a new business, buying airplanes converted to sprayers and began a new business of agricultural spraying and crop dusting. Sadly, Charles died in 1949 and Mary was once again a single mother, this time with five children to support and educate.
Mary continued the crop dusting business into the mid 1950's, but by then the converted training aircraft which were not designed for this type of service were becoming dangerous. Several others in the business had crashed and when one of Mary's planes crashed it seemed to be the time to do something else. Her business and accounting background enabled her to obtain Civil Service employment at Altus Air Force Base as a supervisor in the Accounting and Finance section of Headquarters Squadron, 11th Bomb Group, Stratigic Air Command.
After several years, Mary left her job at Altus AFB and obtained employment with the US Internal Revenue Department as a tax auditor. She worked in several different locations including Pittsburgh, PA; Anchorage, Alaska; Leyton, Utah; Ventura, CA; Santa Barbara, CA and finally Lawton, Oklahoma.
It was while living and working in Anchorage, that Mary's home was totally destroyed by the Good Friday earthquake. She and daughter June were in downtown Anchorage when the earthquake struck. They were not injured, but they lost nearly everything they had.
Mary experianced another tragedy in the early 1970's. While working in Lawton, she was involved in a near fatal automobile accident. She required many surgeries including facial reconstruction, very successful and still the lovely woman that we all loved. The accident did mean that it was time to retire from government work, so she retired and moved back to Elmer. She bought a house in Altus, had it moved to Elmer and had it rebuilt to her own personal specifications. Mary, always a very colorful personality, claimed that the house had once been a house of "ill repute" and that it had spirits, both friendly and watchful, but always present.
Mary lived most of her life as a very successful single mother. She supported five children, provided funds for college education, saw her two youngest daughters achieve high ranks (Lt.CMDR) with the US Navy.
The nearly lifelong habit of smoking was taking its toll on Mary. By February of 2007 she was critically ill. With her 90th birthday just days away, she vowed to live to see it. Always the fighter and victor, she succeeded. With daughter Rosemary at her bedside, Mary died peacefully and with dignity on February 13th, 2007.
From her Eulogy: Read by Son-In-Law Paul Johnson
SHE LOVED PASSIONATELY
SHE LAUGHED HEARTILY
SHE WORKED WITH ENTHUSIASM
SHE NEVER RETREATED FROM ADVERSITY
SHE FELT BLESSED ALL OF HER LIFE
SHE DIED WITH A DIGNIFIED WILLINGNESS AND ACCEPTANCE
SHE LOVED HER FAMILY WITH ALL HER SOUL
SHE NEVER COMPROMISED HER INTEGRITY OR WHAT SHE BELIVED IN. EVER!
Mary Gene (McKinzie) Weber was born February 9th, 1917, in Altus, Oklahoma, the daughter of John and Velma McKinzie. She grew up on a farm near Elmer, Oklahoma, just south of Altus, graduated from Porter High School in Altus and went on to college to study accounting.
She eventually married and became mother to three children, Russell, David and Rosemary, then in the early forties she became a single mother.
Mary was working at Altus Air Base in 1941 when she met an instructor pilot, Lt. Charles Weber. They married in 1942 and somewhat later Charles was reassigned to duty in the Pacific as World War II raged on. Sadly, Charles received a severe, but non-fatal chest wound on the island of Okinawa. He seemed to recover and returned home to Mary and a new daughter, Betty June. Mary and Charles had a second daughter, Nona Camille, and Charles adopted Mary's first three children.
Mary and Charles moved to Belleville, Michigan where they began the new business of a flying school. Mary ran the business end of the school while Charles was the instructor pilot.
Unfortunately, the bullet wound that Charles had recieved during WWII developed into cancer and Mary moved the family back to Oklahoma where she could best care for him. She then began a new business, buying airplanes converted to sprayers and began a new business of agricultural spraying and crop dusting. Sadly, Charles died in 1949 and Mary was once again a single mother, this time with five children to support and educate.
Mary continued the crop dusting business into the mid 1950's, but by then the converted training aircraft which were not designed for this type of service were becoming dangerous. Several others in the business had crashed and when one of Mary's planes crashed it seemed to be the time to do something else. Her business and accounting background enabled her to obtain Civil Service employment at Altus Air Force Base as a supervisor in the Accounting and Finance section of Headquarters Squadron, 11th Bomb Group, Stratigic Air Command.
After several years, Mary left her job at Altus AFB and obtained employment with the US Internal Revenue Department as a tax auditor. She worked in several different locations including Pittsburgh, PA; Anchorage, Alaska; Leyton, Utah; Ventura, CA; Santa Barbara, CA and finally Lawton, Oklahoma.
It was while living and working in Anchorage, that Mary's home was totally destroyed by the Good Friday earthquake. She and daughter June were in downtown Anchorage when the earthquake struck. They were not injured, but they lost nearly everything they had.
Mary experianced another tragedy in the early 1970's. While working in Lawton, she was involved in a near fatal automobile accident. She required many surgeries including facial reconstruction, very successful and still the lovely woman that we all loved. The accident did mean that it was time to retire from government work, so she retired and moved back to Elmer. She bought a house in Altus, had it moved to Elmer and had it rebuilt to her own personal specifications. Mary, always a very colorful personality, claimed that the house had once been a house of "ill repute" and that it had spirits, both friendly and watchful, but always present.
Mary lived most of her life as a very successful single mother. She supported five children, provided funds for college education, saw her two youngest daughters achieve high ranks (Lt.CMDR) with the US Navy.
The nearly lifelong habit of smoking was taking its toll on Mary. By February of 2007 she was critically ill. With her 90th birthday just days away, she vowed to live to see it. Always the fighter and victor, she succeeded. With daughter Rosemary at her bedside, Mary died peacefully and with dignity on February 13th, 2007.
From her Eulogy: Read by Son-In-Law Paul Johnson
SHE LOVED PASSIONATELY
SHE LAUGHED HEARTILY
SHE WORKED WITH ENTHUSIASM
SHE NEVER RETREATED FROM ADVERSITY
SHE FELT BLESSED ALL OF HER LIFE
SHE DIED WITH A DIGNIFIED WILLINGNESS AND ACCEPTANCE
SHE LOVED HER FAMILY WITH ALL HER SOUL
SHE NEVER COMPROMISED HER INTEGRITY OR WHAT SHE BELIVED IN. EVER!
She eventually married and became mother to three children, Russell, David and Rosemary, then in the early forties she became a single mother.
Mary was working at Altus Air Base in 1941 when she met an instructor pilot, Lt. Charles Weber. They married in 1942 and somewhat later Charles was reassigned to duty in the Pacific as World War II raged on. Sadly, Charles received a severe, but non-fatal chest wound on the island of Okinawa. He seemed to recover and returned home to Mary and a new daughter, Betty June. Mary and Charles had a second daughter, Nona Camille, and Charles adopted Mary's first three children.
Mary and Charles moved to Belleville, Michigan where they began the new business of a flying school. Mary ran the business end of the school while Charles was the instructor pilot.
Unfortunately, the bullet wound that Charles had recieved during WWII developed into cancer and Mary moved the family back to Oklahoma where she could best care for him. She then began a new business, buying airplanes converted to sprayers and began a new business of agricultural spraying and crop dusting. Sadly, Charles died in 1949 and Mary was once again a single mother, this time with five children to support and educate.
Mary continued the crop dusting business into the mid 1950's, but by then the converted training aircraft which were not designed for this type of service were becoming dangerous. Several others in the business had crashed and when one of Mary's planes crashed it seemed to be the time to do something else. Her business and accounting background enabled her to obtain Civil Service employment at Altus Air Force Base as a supervisor in the Accounting and Finance section of Headquarters Squadron, 11th Bomb Group, Stratigic Air Command.
After several years, Mary left her job at Altus AFB and obtained employment with the US Internal Revenue Department as a tax auditor. She worked in several different locations including Pittsburgh, PA; Anchorage, Alaska; Leyton, Utah; Ventura, CA; Santa Barbara, CA and finally Lawton, Oklahoma.
It was while living and working in Anchorage, that Mary's home was totally destroyed by the Good Friday earthquake. She and daughter June were in downtown Anchorage when the earthquake struck. They were not injured, but they lost nearly everything they had.
Mary experianced another tragedy in the early 1970's. While working in Lawton, she was involved in a near fatal automobile accident. She required many surgeries including facial reconstruction, very successful and still the lovely woman that we all loved. The accident did mean that it was time to retire from government work, so she retired and moved back to Elmer. She bought a house in Altus, had it moved to Elmer and had it rebuilt to her own personal specifications. Mary, always a very colorful personality, claimed that the house had once been a house of "ill repute" and that it had spirits, both friendly and watchful, but always present.
Mary lived most of her life as a very successful single mother. She supported five children, provided funds for college education, saw her two youngest daughters achieve high ranks (Lt.CMDR) with the US Navy.
The nearly lifelong habit of smoking was taking its toll on Mary. By February of 2007 she was critically ill. With her 90th birthday just days away, she vowed to live to see it. Always the fighter and victor, she succeeded. With daughter Rosemary at her bedside, Mary died peacefully and with dignity on February 13th, 2007.
From her Eulogy: Read by Son-In-Law Paul Johnson
SHE LOVED PASSIONATELY
SHE LAUGHED HEARTILY
SHE WORKED WITH ENTHUSIASM
SHE NEVER RETREATED FROM ADVERSITY
SHE FELT BLESSED ALL OF HER LIFE
SHE DIED WITH A DIGNIFIED WILLINGNESS AND ACCEPTANCE
SHE LOVED HER FAMILY WITH ALL HER SOUL
SHE NEVER COMPROMISED HER INTEGRITY OR WHAT SHE BELIVED IN. EVER!
Gravesite Details
Mary Weber chose cremation. Her ashes and those of her daughter June were scattered together on the family farm near Elmer, Oklahoma. Mary has a headstone in the Weber family plot in Altus Cemetery.
Family Members
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