Obituary - Martha (Wheatly) Stanfield

Martha was born on May 11th, 1947 in Pawnee, Oklahoma to her parents Henry and Lorene Wheatley. She grew up on a farm and graduated from Pawnee High School in 1965. She then went on to graduate from Oklahoma State University and taught 1st and 3rd grades in Kansas City and Oklahoma City for seven years. While living in Kansas City, she met John Michael Stanfield after Martha’s brother gave John her phone number. The really funny thing was that they talked several times on the phone at Oklahoma State when Martha worked the phone switchboard for the University before they ever met! John and Martha were married at First Baptist Church, Pawnee, Oklahoma on August 5th, 1972 and shared almost 49 years together.

Martha and her husband moved to Edmond, Oklahoma in 1975 and had their first daughter in 1976. They were joined by their second daughter in 1979. After her kids were older, Martha became a successful AVON representative and also worked for the U.S. Census Bureau and the USDA. She also worked in the two Thomas Kinkade art galleries in Oklahoma City that she and her husband owned.

Martha was involved in their church and among many things taught 5th grade, 3rd grade, and preschool Sunday school. She also was active in Bible Study Fellowship and their daughters’ schools. She even led a Camp Fire girls group for several years. Children gravitated to her and she was always surrounded by kids. In fact, when she was pregnant with her first child, she was followed by 7 to 8 kids as she walked around the neighborhood and John called her the “Pied Piper of kids” because she listened to them talk.

She loved to read and passed that joy on to her daughters. She enjoyed crocheting, sewing, playing the piano, and playing with their golden retrievers. She also loved creating many scrapbooks that fill their house and show many precious memories. Martha always had a very sweet spirit about her and everyone noticed it.

Martha is reunited with her parents and her parents in-law in heaven.

Martha was dearly loved and will be deeply missed by her husband, John Stanfield of Edmond, Oklahoma; daughter Krista Johnson and husband, Michael Johnson of Edmond, Oklahoma; daughter Kara Milligan and husband Joshua Milligan of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma; brother, Raymond Wheatley and wife Sara Wheatley of Stillwater, Oklahoma; grandchildren, Laura Johnson, Becca Johnson, Caleb Milligan, Abigail Johnson, Rachel Milligan, Daniel Milligan, and Grace Milligan. And many other extended family.

A visitation will be held for Martha from 12:30 to 1:45pm, Friday, July 16th 2021 at Memorial Park Funeral Home in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. A funeral service will be held at 2pm, Friday, July 16th, 2021 at Memorial Park Funeral Home with a burial to follow in Memorial Park Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers the family asks that memorial contributions be made to the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation and to Oklahoma Children’s Hospital in Martha’s name.