My special friend and beloved Stroud plant guru Cathy Terry passed away unexpectedly this past week.
When I heard Cathy had become ill and had been life flighted to a Tulsa hospital, I was very concerned but never expected to hear the news I received. I was devastated and shocked as was everyone with whom I shared the news.
Each comment I heard was the same, “I can’t believe it. I just talked to her.”
Cathy died of an aortic aneurysm around 3:00 a.m. this past Friday. She was someone I had known about since I was a little girl, but she became my dear friend about eight years when I began working for the City of Stroud and then through our volunteer group Town Talk.
She was an original member of Town Talk and I could depend on her for any and everything. Cathy grew up in Stroud along with her siblings, Jeff, Barbara, Bette, Mary and Pee Wee (Johnny). I was only nine years old when Cathy graduated so it wasn’t until adulthood that we became friends. Both of us loved our hometown and spent many hours together working on community projects. She opened her cute little shop, Unique OK, in Stroud, along with her sisters, Mary and Barbara in what was once her dad’s oil and gas office.
Eventually she purchased the business outright and she and her daughter, Andrea Flatt Thompson, operated it together under the name Unique Market.
Cathy spent so much time at the store that she eventually made her home in the apartment located in the back of the building. It was a gathering place for so many, especially Town Talk volunteers. We solved many a “community” problem on her back porch as we painted benches, potted flowers, sold American flag flowerpots – all the while enjoying an ice cream cone from their store.
It was so much fun and reminiscent of days gone by growing up in Stroud, OK. It was not unusual to stop by and run into Mary Vickery, David Evans, Julie Bivin, Aleta Smalley or Linda Waller working on a local project or just stopping by to chat a few minutes with Cathy. When Mom would go to Unique with me, many times she would wait in the car and I would tell her, “I’ll just be a minute.” Cathy’s and my conversation would abruptly end, maybe thirty minutes later with my mom honking the horn giving me my cue that I stayed too long.
Cathy would follow me as I walked to the car so we could finish our “last” story. Cathy was kind, agreeable, dependable, helpful but most of all a true friend. Stroud will not quite be the same now and I along with the Stroud community will miss her dearly.
Another Stroud alumni member, Class of 1972, Gary Shields passed away on October 11th in Omaha, Nebraska. A celebration of his life was held this past Saturday here in Stroud.
Gary was the son of the late Ralph and Winfred (Thomas) Shields. Gary graduated with my brother, Bruce, and his dad worked in the oil field with my dad so I remember Gary with fond memories. Town Talk offers its condolences to the Terry and Shields families.
Stroud activities over the next couple of weeks include Friday, November 4th Assembly of God turkey dinner from 11:00 a.m. until it’s “all gone,” Stroud Food Pantry open Tuesday, November 8th, from 9:00 a.m. until noon, Stroud Chamber of Commerce meeting at 5:30 p.m. also on Tuesday, City Council meeting on Thursday November 10th at 6 p.m. at Stroud City Hall and Masonic Lodge “all you can eat” breakfast on Saturday, November 12th from 8:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m.
Don’t forget to get your tickets for the Andrew Sisters Trio Tribute concert on Saturday, November 12th at the First Assembly of God Family Life Center.
All veterans and current servicemen and women will be admitted free of charge thanks to a sponsorship from RCB Bank and BancFirst. General public tickets may be obtained for a $20 donation which will go towards our Bugle Boy project. You may pick those up at Stroud Dry Cleaning or call me at 918-527-9833. The show will begin at 6:00 p.m. with refreshments served afterwards. Let’s gather as a community and honor our hometown heroes. Putt Putt Kicks is open this month on Saturday and Sundays from 1:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. If you would like to play at a time other than open hours please contact me at 918-527-9833 and I will open the course for you. Everyone who plays has told us what a nice course it is and how much they enjoyed playing it. If you haven’t checked us out yet, stop by and play a round of golf.
The Stroud Tiger High School football team will take on the Savanna Bulldogs this Friday night at 7:00 p.m. in Savanna. This will be another district game for the Tigers. Their final regular season game will be Friday, November 11 at 7:00 p.m. in Stroud at Jack Poskey Field where they will face the Chelsea Dragons in a non-district game. The Tigers currently stand 6-0 in district play.
Thanksgiving will be here before you know it so it’s not too early to start planning for the holiday. Larry and I were eating out this past week in Tulsa and Larry commented that our sugar packet said “eat local.” Merchants everywhere are encouraging their residents to support their local shops and eateries first. It just makes sense. Let’s keep our local dollars local, whenever possible. Thank you for choosing to shop and dine local…………………. first.