Mary Lou Self

Shawnee resident, Mary Lou Self, passed away on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, at the age of 96 and a half, years old. 

Mary Lou, the daughter of Henry and Mary Belle (Daugherty) Hale, was born May 21, 1928, in Van Horn, Texas. She graduated from Miami High School, in Miami, Oklahoma. On June 1, 1947, she married Leon Glenn Self, in Miami, Oklahoma. She and Leon enjoyed 70 years of marriage prior to his passing on September 19, 2017. Mary Lou enjoyed quilting and was a faithful member of St Paul's United Methodist Church. She spent her early years in Van Horn and St Jo, Texas, before moving to Miami, Oklahoma. She and Leon then moved to Bloomington, Illinois, where they lived for many years, before coming to the Seminole and Shawnee area.  

Mary Lou was a devoted wife, mother, and homemaker, whose joy derived from caring for her family and friends. Being a native-born Texan, she relished in flashing the “hook em horns” hand sign to Leon and her son Patrick, as they watched the annual Texas-Oklahoma Football game. She loved working daily at any ranch work and gave names to each and every cow that roamed the pasture. 

She was preceded in death by her husband, Leon Self, a son, Kelly Leon Self; parents, Henry and Mary Belle Hale; and a sister, Francis Melott. 

Mary Lou is survived by her son, Patrick Self and his wife Herlinda, of Wewoka; a brother, Jack Hale, of Rocklin, CA.; a sister, Marjorie Ross, of Lake Charles, LA.; and many other family members and friends. 

Cremation services are under the direction of Swearingen Funeral Home in Seminole.