Mildred Hamlin

Mildred J. Hester Hamlin Birthdate: July 19th, 1925 Birthplace: Lake Valley, Washita County, OK I was born July 19th, 1925, in Washita County, OK. My parents were George Lee and Clara Brazzeal Hester. In 1928 my father died. I never knew him. I had five sisters, Eunice, Lois, Viola, Merlyn and Billie and one brother, Marion. In 1929, the Great Depression hit. Which was a real equalizer for people in the country, nobody had anything left. In 1931, I started school in a rural community school called Lake Valley. It was about 5 miles from the farm. I liked school. One of my favorite things to do was climb trees to get the fruit. We didn’t get fruit often, and it tasted good. Once I fell out of the fruit tree and cut my leg on the fence. Mom bandaged my leg. In the early 30’s we had a drought. The wind blew, and it was called the Dust Bowl Days. In 1939 and 1940, Hitler in Germany was getting ready to take over the world. Germany invaded France, Poland, and went for Russia. On December 7th, 1941, Japan decided to bomb Pearl Harbor. My younger sister Billie and I lived with neighbors my last year of high school. They were our mother’s age, so we helped with chores. I graduated high school in 1943. My older sister, Viola Best, came out from Oklahoma City and got me. She brought me to Oklahoma City and helped me get a job. I worked at Hyde Drug on Kelly. It was a whole new world to me. One afternoon I was looking at a magazine. I opened up to a full-page ad for a Cadet Nurse Program. I contacted my sister and said this was something I could do. We looked it over and went to University Hospital to check it out. I was accepted and that is how I got into nursing school. January 1st, 1944, I entered the school of nursing. In 1946, the war ended and it was our last year of school at the university. Art Hamlin lived in Ohio and a friend of his, Al Lowe, invited him to come to Oklahoma City to visit Al’s relatives. Art came and we met because one of the relatives was a classmate of mine. I graduated January 1st, 1947, from the school of nursing and Art came back for the graduation. He went back home and we corresponded. Eventually Art came back to Oklahoma to live. He loved airplanes and was interested in Tinker Air Field. We were married August 30th, 1947, in a double wedding ceremony. That fall I was introduced to college football. Art loved football and taught me well what the game is all about. I have had season tickets to the OU college football games for 70 years. We were invited to take square dance lessons and met some very nice people. We enjoyed square dancing very much and belonged to the Wagon Wheel Club. I worked at Children’s Hospital until 1953 when Steven was born. He is a real pride and joy. We bought our first home in Oklahoma City. We met some lovely neighbors – five couples we remained friends with for the rest of our lives. Pat and June, Charles and Betty, Bill and Joann, Bud and Francie, and Richard and Mildred. Once a month, we rotated host couples and gathered for cocktails, dinner, and good conversation. Then we all started looking for bigger homes. Art and I were looking for acreages. Growing up on a farm, city life didn’t agree with us. We found an acreage in NE Oklahoma City and, in 1959, built the home I live in today. Steven was six years old and went to school at Pleasant Hill. Then there was pee wee baseball with Art and me right in the middle of it. Next was Cub Scouts, Webelos, and then Boy Scouts. Steve and his dad were very involved with scouting. Steve got his Eagle Scout Award at the age of 13. Steven went to OSU, didn’t like it, and came home. Steve joined the OK Cloggers group and traveled to other states to dance. Steve married Lynnice and they gave us three beautiful, healthy grandchildren – Taneya, Shondreya, and Brandon. They went to school, graduated from college, married (Daniel, Chad, and Brittany), and I now have three beautiful intelligent great-grandchildren – Allyana, Tyler, and Zoey. I went back to work at Children’s Hospital in 1965 and retired in 1982 from my nursing career. Art and I traveled some after his retirement. We went to Alaska, Mexico, Nassau, and Hawaii. We enjoyed gardening, dinner with friends, and watching our grandchildren. I have had many blessings in my life - a wonderful husband, loving son and family, and many friends to cherish. Mom enjoyed life and learning. She read books and worked crossword puzzles until her sight no longer allowed. She enjoyed a good conversation. When asked what she wanted her great-grandchildren to know about life she replied, “My words to Ally, Tyler and Zoey are learn – learn everything you can.” Mom went to be with our Lord on November 25, 2018. Mom will be missed. Funeral Service Friday, November 30th, 2018 - 02:00 PM - Corbett Funeral & Cremation 807 W Wilshire Blvd - Oklahoma City, OK - 73116 To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Mildred Hamlin please visit our Sympathy Store.