Winona Elizabeth Madison

Winona Elizabeth Stevens Madison, 95, passed away on July 18, 2016 in Oklahoma City, OK. Winona, a beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, great-great grandmother, and friend; a registered nurse of 41 years; and a devoted Methodist, remained loving, funny, quick-witted, and faithful until the end. She is dearly loved and will be missed by all. She was born August 2, 1920 in Wichita, KS. She was adopted two months later by John Wesley Sturgis and Elizabeth Tandy Sturgis of Oklahoma City, OK; they named her Winona Elizabeth Sturgis and brought her back to Oklahoma City. The family moved to Clinton, OK in 1922, where Winona resided for the next 88 years. She graduated from Clinton High School in 1939 and entered nursing school at Western Oklahoma Hospital the following year. She married Stacy Earl Stevens on February 1, 1942 in Buffalo, OK, and graduated nursing school that spring. Immediately following graduation, Winona completed a postgraduate course in obstetrics in Chicago, IL. She and Stacy had two children, John Truman Stevens and Judith Elizabeth Stevens. During World War II, Stacy was sent to the Western Front in September 1944, one month before Judy was born. He was killed on the final day of the Battle of the Bulge, January 17, 1945. Winona married L.T. Madison on February 5, 1949; they remained together until his death 50 years later in 1999. She worked at Clinton Regional Hospital for 35 years, where she became the Obstetrics Supervisor and Director of Nursing. She was President of the Oklahoma State Nurses Association for three terms, and was a Member of the Oklahoma State University Division of Nursing Advisory Board and the United Methodist State Board for Ordained Ministry. A life-long Methodist, Winona devoted her spiritual life to Christ through membership at the Clinton United Methodist Church and later Church of the Servant in Oklahoma City. She moved to OKC in 2010 after her 90th birthday to be closer to her daughter Judy. She is preceded in death by her parents, both husbands, her son John, and her son-in-law Dr. Robert Raulston. She is survived by her daughter Judy, of Edmond; granddaughters Elizabeth Raulston Blake & husband James Blake, of Brooklyn, NY and Annie Eastham and husband Nathaniel, of Norman, OK; grandson Dr. JEB Raulston and wife Alden, of Birmingham, AL, John Scott Stevens and wife Lori, of Adair, OK, and Bradley Stevens; four great-grandsons; one great-granddaughter; several great-great-grandchildren, all of whom love her and will miss her greatly. Services will be held at United Methodist Church of the Servant Chapel of the Cross, Friday, July 22 at 11:00 am. In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory may be made to the Winona Madison Nursing Scholarship Fund at Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford OK, or to the charity of your choice. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Winona Elizabeth Madison please visit our Sympathy Store.