|
Mary Elizabeth Choate Poorman, a Pittsburg County, OK native currently residing in Knoxville, TN, died February 21, 2007 in that city. Services will be held at Choate Prairie Baptist Church on February 26, 2007. Arrangements are under the direction of Brumley-Mills Funeral Home, McAlester, OK. Mary Elizabeth Choate Poorman was born December 27, 1907 in the Choate Prairie community bearing the family name, located west of present day Indianola, OK. She was the daughter of William Frederick Choate and Mary Elizabeth Piepgrass Choate. On her father's side, she was the granddaughter of George W. Choate and Eliza Wade Choate. Her Choctaw lineage included prominent family members involved in the history of the Choctaw Nation. Elizabeth Choate Poorman graduated from McAlester High School in 1925. She attended Oklahoma A. & M. College, now Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, OK, where she earned a Bachelor's and a Master's Degree. She then began a long career as a teacher in Waynoka, Indianola, and Okarche Public Schools, all in Oklahoma. She spent many years teaching in the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs Schools - at Wheelock Academy near Millerton, OK, Eufaula Boarding School in Eufaula, OK, and the Tuba City Indian School in Arizona. She also taught in the Bernalillo and Albuquerque Public Schools in New Mexico. During World War II, she volunteered for the Women's Army Corps and graduated from the Officer Candidate School for WACs at Ft. Des Moines, IA, serving in various service areas. She returned to active duty during the Korean conflict and served in Japan. She remained in the Army Reserve until her retirement as a Lt. Col. While teaching at Tuba City, she married Ralph U. Poorman, a fellow teacher and native of Pennsylvania. While living in Albuquerque and Truth or Consequences, NM, Mrs. Poorman took an active role in the civic and church activities of her community. She was a member of Assn. of University Women, Retired Officers Assn., WAC Retirement Group, OSU Alumni Assn., AARP, and Eastern Star. She was a genuine "people" person, and she will be missed. Her nieces and nephews played a significant part in her life as she did in their lives. She is survived by nieces, Geraldine Colby of Asheville, NC, Ramona Schrader of Knoxville, TN and Kay Johnson of Santa Rosa, CA; nephews, David Choate of Williamsburg, VA, James E. Choate of Stillwater, OK, and Ben P. Choate, Jr., of Muskogee, OK. She was preceded in death by her husband; and parents; by a sister, Lydia Choate; and by her brothers, Tuska E. Choate, George R. Choate, Ben P. Choate, and James A. Choate; and by a niece, Amyesue Ahn; and two nephews, Lt. George R. Choate Jr., and James Frederick Choate. Memorial contributions may be made to Wheelock Academy, Millerton, OK or Pittsburg County Historical Society, McAlester, OK.
|
