Bertha Mainord

Bertha Marie “Mam-ma” Mainord was born on July 26, 1907, in Yale, Ks.    She was “born again” as a Christian in February of 1923, and on  May19,2010, after 102 years of  blessed life on this earth , she moved into her brand new home in Heaven. Her parents were Matt and Genevieve Bister, She also had two sisters, Margaret (Bister) Foster and Evelyn (Bister) Phillips.  Her parents, sisters, and a nephew Tommy Joe Phillips precede her in death.  She is survived by a nephew, Jim Phillips and his wife Rose, a great niece, and three great nephews and their families. On July 8, 1925 she married Grover Mainord and he preceded her in death on Sept. 1, 1956.   Wesley and Cecilia Mainord were Grover’s parents.  They also precede her in death.  Mam-ma lovingly referred to Grover’s mother as “Mother Mainord” and often quoted her words of wisdom to friends and family. Survivors from this family are Wanda McPherron of Midwest City, and Glover and Kathryn Mainord of Shawnee, and many nieces and nephews, and great nieces and nephews.  Grover and Bertha had 11 children, of which 8 are still living.  The surviving children include: Hope and Bill Taylor of Broken Arrow , Oklahoma .,  Marcine Roberson, of Seminole, Deloris and Floyd Jennings of San Angelo, TX, Gilbert and Minnie Mainord of Enid, Evelyn and James Stevens of Ardmore, Jim Fleming of Wewoka, Carolyn and Charles Dean of Norman, and Linda and Lynn Tipton of Euless, Tx.  She also considered Joyce Mainord and Bayless and Earlene Rose as part of her family. The children preceding her in death were Garland Mainord, Freda Fleming, and infant Glendon Mainord, Dean and Monroe McNally, Bill Roberson, and MaryAnn Mainord.  Her surviving Grand Children included:  Margaret and Cole Durham, Billy and Marie Moore, Lee and Judy Taylor. Wanda Pierce, Leroy and Mary Roberson, Steven and Leslie Roberson. Chuck and Theresa Plunkett, Gary and Sandra Mainord. Jean Horath, Rick and Penny Fritcher, Jackie McNally, Ginger McNally.  Rick Jennings, Jim and Elizabeth Jennings.  Kevin and Julene Mainord, Greg and Amy Morgan, Ron and Melissa Mainord, Chris and Leigh Arnold.  Jesse and Debbie Figueroa, Donna Webb, Doug and Lena Stevens, Patty Stevens, Tony and Lorrie Gustin. Denise and Dale Davis, John and Dawn Griffin, Paul and Jan Harris, James (Sparky) and Beth Griffin, Mike and Dina Venable, Chris and Misty Crowson.  Charles Jr. (Chuck) and Cassy Dean, David and Rhonda Kencyl. David and Loralie Hoggard.  Also surviving her are 67 great grand children and spouses, and 62 great great grand children. She has grandchildren and great grandchildren, which preceded her in death. Also surviving her are many, many friends of which includes her Church Family and the Darr Family which have been family friends for many years. Mam-ma had many friends, and age didn’t make a difference. Most all of them knew her as Mam-ma.  She loved to send cards, crochet afghans, and cook.  Sending cards was her ministry.  Recently she said, “I never ran out of stamps, nor cards, God always supplied.”  She always prayed over every card she sent that it would minister to the person.  At Christmas she would send approximately 100 cards and each card had a personal hand written message. She did this until 2008 when her health began to fail.  She made many afghans for family, friends, and new babies, which brought her so much joy to give away.   She said “when I make an afghan I pray, cry, or sing as I stitch, and talk to God.”  She always wanted to be included in fixing a meal for a family. She often said her motto was “caring is sharing and sharing is caring.”  She enjoyed sharing or giving what she had, and she would often quote the words to a song “If I can help someone along life’s way, then my living is not in vain.”  Her activity for life was church. She loved her church family and was “Mam-ma” to most of them. She loved her Pastors.  She had the privilege of having 2 generations of Pastors from the same family, Pastors Holly and Marie Robertson, were her Pastors when she was younger, and Pastors Roy and Deloris Robertson; the elder Robertson’s son is her Pastor now. She thought that was such an honor. She enjoyed recalling the times when pastors would bring their families to the Mainord house for Sunday Lunch and how much fun and fellowship they would have. She had a heart for Pastors and believed you should treat them with great respect.  Her delight was her family.  She told everyone that would listen about her family, and how good they were to her.   She would also tell you she didn’t have in-laws.  When they married into the family they became a son or daughter.  She kept a prayer list and a picture of her family next to it. Each morning she would look at that picture, call their names in prayer, and then start with friends. Prayer was a big part of her daily life, she was a prayer warrior. If anyone called her with a prayer request she would always say “we’ll take it to the Lord in prayer, if He can’t fix it, no one can.” The last year or two of her life she would say, “I can’t do much, but I can still love and pray.” She read her Bible, and often quoted special verses such as “godliness with contentment is great gain…” or  “…hold on my child joy comes in the morning…,” and her favorite “if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray…”    When asked about her secret to long life “Mam-ma” would say “It pays to serve God,” and when asked about her secret to raising a good family her answer was “I didn’t spare the rod.” As the family, we will miss our Mother and Mam-ma, but she left us with enough love, examples of living, and Godly wisdom that she will remain forever in our hearts.   Her living was truly not in vain! Funeral services are scheduled for 2:00 p.m., Saturday, May 22, 2010 at Bowlegs Assembly of God Church located on Hwy 99 in Bowlegs, Oklahoma.  Rev. Roy Robertson will officiate the service with interment following at Little Cemetery north of Seminole. Pallbearers will be grandsons:  Lee Taylor, Leroy Roberson, Steve Roberson, Gary Mainord, Jim Jennings, Rick Jennings, Kevin Mainord, Ron Mainord, Doug Stevens, John Griffin, James Griffin, Chuck Dean, Honorary Pallbearers will be: Cole Durham, Billy Moore, Chuck Plunkett, Rick Fritcher, Greg Morgan, Chris Arnold, Jesse Figuerro, Tony Gustin, Paul Harris, Chris Crowson, Mike Venable, Dale Davis, David Kencyl, and David Hoggard. Services are under the direction of Swearingen Funeral Home in Seminole. Funeral Information: May 22, 2010, 2:00 PM Bowlegs Assembly of God Church located at Hwy. 99, Bowlegs, OK