Katherine Mainord

Katherine Mainord, 95, former longtime Seminole, Oklahoma resident, passed away, Saturday, March 21, 2020, in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Katherine was born on May 11, 1924 in Carter, Oklahoma.  She was the first child born to Wesley William Brown and Iva Ola (Breeze) Brown. She was born in the house that was built by her grandfather. Her father was a building contractor who built houses and her grandfather was the local blacksmith. The family lived in Carter, until Katherine was in the 7th grade. It was during the time of the “Great Depression” and the “dust bowl”. Katherine said, “One afternoon in the summertime about 4:00 p.m. it got very dark like night from a great dust storm. My mother put us all in one small bedroom that had only one door and one window. I took sheets and wet them down with water and hung them over the door and the window so that we could breathe.  It lasted until 9:00 or 10:00 that night. I had an extra bucket of water so that I could keep wetting down the sheets. We had lots of dust storms but most of them were not that bad.” During the depression no one had money to afford to build a new home so her father could not find work. A friend of her father had gone to Arizona and he wrote that if the family would move to Tucson there would be plenty of work. It was 1936, and the family, being her father and mother, herself, her younger sister and paternal grandfather got into her father’s Chevy Pickup with all their luggage and necessities loaded in the back. It was too crowded for everyone to ride in the front, so her grandfather put a chair in the back and rode there while the rest of them rode in the front. That arrangement went well until they got into New Mexico and ran into a very bad sand storm. Then her grandfather had to get into the front with everyone else. Katherine said that it was an unforgettable experience. The sand was so thick that they couldn’t see out the front window. During her high school years, Katherine worked after school and weekends at Kresses. She was friends with a couple of girls who were sisters and they had a brother back in Oklahoma. They told her that he was coming to Tucson and Katherine should meet him. They went to the same church and one day this guy came in and sat down beside her. He was very nice and he turned out to be Glover Mainard, brother to her two friends. They got acquainted and dated for about two years. Glover had a ruptured ear drum so they didn’t take him in the service. After they were married, they both worked a Davis Monthan Air Force Base near Tucson. It is still an active Air Force Base today and there are all kinds of old aircraft stored there in the desert. It is called the “Air Force Graveyard. “ Katherine worked in accounting at the base. It was her job to keep up with the aircraft parts inventory. Glover worked in shipping and receiving. To this union two children were born, Wesley Mainord and his wife Amy Beth of Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Givoanna McHugh of Shawnee, Oklahoma. Glover and Katherine moved from Arizona to Bowlegs, Oklahoma. Wesley was born in Wewoka, Oklahoma and they lived in Bowlegs till Wesley was 9 years old and then they moved to a 120 acre farm, south of Seminole, Oklahoma. After moving there, Givoanna was born. The move to the farm allowed Wesley to have a horse and both children could have other animals. The family raised cattle, pigs, chickens, turkeys, rabbits and various other animals from time to time. During the years they had family picnics and fishing at extended family get-to-gathers. Katherine said that was a wonderful life and a great place to raise children. While they were living on the farm, Katherine worked for Power Transmission and Eastern Oil Well Cementing Company in Seminole as their bookkeeper and office manager for thirty-five years, during those years she was active in the Business and Professional Women’s Club. Glover and Katherine attended Tri-City Christian Center in Seminole for many years. When Glover’s health began to fail, they sold the farm and moved to Shawnee in 2002, to be near their children. They purchased a home and lived there for about nine years. After seventy years of marriage, Glover passed away on June 2, 2012. Katherine said, “I had the best husband in the world and I have two wonderful children, Wesley and Givoanna, who have made me proud over the years.” She also had four grandchildren, eight great grandchildren and three great greatgrandchildren who survive her and her brother Bill Brown of Washington State. She was preceded in death by her parents and a sister Wanell. Credit is given for most of this obituary that was taken from a story written by the staff of Primrose Retirement Community in Shawnee that did a monthly feature article on Katherine in 2017. Graveside Services are planned for 11:00 A.M., Tuesday, March 24, 2020 at Rest Haven Memorial Gardens Cemetery, east of Seminole, Oklahoma on highway # 270, with Pastor Donnie Knight officiating. Services are under the care of Swearingen Funeral Home in Seminole, Oklahoma. Funeral Information: March 24, 2020, 11:00 AM Rest Haven Memorial Gardens located at East of Seminole on Hwy. 270, Seminole, OK 74868