Violet Burton

Violet Merkle Burton celebrated her 100th birthday on March 29, 2006. She was born 100 years earlier on that date in the farm house where she lived until two years ago, near Maud, Oklahoma.rnrnViolet graduated from Maud High School in 1924 and then attended Southeastern State Teachers College in Durant, East Central University in Ada, where she earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in elementary education, Oklahoma Baptist University and the University of Oklahoma, where she earned her Master?s Degree.rnrnViolet began teaching in Kenific, where she taught for three years before returning to Maud during the ?oil boom?, where she taught fifth grade for 44 years. During the boom, she had 88 fifth graders one year, one of whom was 17 years old.rnrnViolet and William Paul Burton were married August 28, 1929. They lived in Maud when Paul was killed in an oilfield accident on February 22, 1933. Mrs. Burton did not remarry.rnrnViolet loved to travel and visited Europe, Africa, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, islands in the Caribbean, the Panama Canal, and most every state in the Union.rnrnViolet?s dad was Joe Merkle. When Joe was about to finish the eighth grade in Norman, Oklahoma Territory, in 1889-90, Joe?s father, John Merkle, realized there was no additional schooling available for his 5 children. John and a group of friends with children the same age formed a group of ?Concerned Parents?, each one contributing $50 to lobby the senators and representatives of the Oklahoma Territory to start a university. The University of Oklahoma was started as a preparatory school for these young people. Violet?s dad, Joe, and his brother, Fred Merkle, went on to play on the first University of Oklahoma football team and, until several years ago, Violet attended all OU home football games.rnrnViolet retired from teaching in May, 1973. She was active in community service, serving at St. Mark?s Methodist Church as pianist and recording secretary. She was also pianist for Eastern Star and had been a member for 75 years (a special 75-year pin was made for her as no one had ever been a member of that organization for so long). She was recording secretary for Senior Citizens Nutrition Center, delivered meals on wheels for years, was a member of the Chamber of Commerce and the Historical Society of Maud, and the County, State and National Retired Teachers Organizations. rnrnBito (so named by her toddler nephew who couldn?t pronounce ?Violet?) is survived by her nephew Joe B. Merkle, and his wife Barbara, her niece Patricia Baggett, and her children, Alice Baggett Strouse and Molly Baggett Kaplan, and her niece Sally Mock, and her husband Randall, and their children, Adam and Caroline Mock.rnrnThe family wishes to thank the wonderful people at Heartland Hospice in Shawnee and the staffs of Sunset Estates in Tecumseh and Maud, and especially, Violet?s special caretaker, Emral Guinn, for looking after this wonderful woman who left us on September 26, 2006.rnrnServices will be held at St. Mark?s Methodist Church in Maud at 2:00 PM on Saturday, September 30, 2006 with Rev. Carl Whitfield and Rev. Gene Teel officiating. Interment will follow at Cummings Cemetery in Maud. Services are under the direction of Knight-Swearingen Funeral Home in Maud, Oklahoma. Funeral Information: September 29, 2006, 2:00 AM