Funeral services for Clara Sue Jennings, 86, of Lexington will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, October 1, 2021 at the Wilson-Little Funeral Home Chapel. Services will be under the direction of the Wilson-Little Funeral Home in Purcell.
The angel known to most as Clara Sue Jennings came into the world as Clara Sue Mead on July 28, 1935 in Chickasha, Oklahoma. Her Lord and Savior called her home on Sunday, September 26, 2021. She died in Lexington, Oklahoma surrounded by the love of the four children who absolutely adored her, and several grandchildren who felt the same.
Anyone who knew Sue even a little bit could tell you the three most important things in her life were faith, family and food. Once you know her story, it’s not hard to understand why. As the sixth of nine children born to Jasper Hayden and Lela Wilkerson Mead, Sue faced odds that were nearly insurmountable. Jasper rarely worked and disappeared for days or weeks on end, leaving Lela to feed and care for nine children on nothing but a modest Social Security check.
While Sue didn’t have much in the way of material items, she was incredibly rich in faith. Sue was a lifelong follower of Christ and that never wavered, despite all the times her faith was tested. Like so many of us she experienced hardships, betrayal and heartbreak, but her love for her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ always pulled her through.
Sue was an extremely hard worker.She was a cook at Washington Public Schools for several years, then a jeweler at Stuckey Diamonds. But her real work, her labor of love, what she lived for, was her family. Sue’s first marriage to Bill Blair produced three daughters, Debbie, Jeanie and Sandra, and a son, Steve. A few years into the marriage Bill became a preacher. As a preacher’s wife, Sue was able to use some of her greatest attributes: her love of the Lord, her genuine desire to serve and bring joy to others, and her phenomenal cooking skills.
For Sue, bringing a dish to the church potluck wasn’t a chore. Cooking Thanksgiving dinner for 30 wasn’t a daunting task. Every casserole contained a dozen prayers for both friends and strangers. Every carrot cake was full of sweet thoughts for the birthday boy or girl. Every batch of M&M cookies was made with morsels of kindness and sprinkles of wisdom. Her homemade banana ice cream left you feeling warm inside.
Long after Sue was no longer a preacher’s wife, the cooking continued. No matter which community she lived in or which church she attended, it didn’t take long for people to notice – and appreciate - Sue’s cooking skills and her heart of gold.She received and fulfilled many cooking and baking requests up until about the age of 75.
Sue’s happiest moments took place at the dinner table when the entire family came together for a meal. For Sue, Thanksgiving dinner was the closest thing to Heaven on Earth you’d ever find. She spent days preparing the turkey, her legendary dressing, the elaborate side dishes, and desserts galore. Her family would come and happily devour it all, feeling so full they could bust, and also so incredibly loved.
Food and love; two essential components of survival that Sue sometimes found scarce as a child, yet she gave both in abundance to the family she created. For that, they will be forever grateful.
Waiting for Sue at the Heavenly Gates were brothers, Larry Joe, Billy, Art and Joe Mead, as well as sisters, Lela Bell Eggleston, Betty Douglass, Lois Romine and Wanda Jane Mead. Her surviving brother, Walter Mead, lives in Chickasha.
Sue is survived by her children, Debbie Collins of Norman, Jeanie Hall of Mustang, Steve Blair of Norman and Sandra Shobe of Purcell, along with nine grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren who loved their Nana very much.
Online condolences may be made at wilsonlittle.com.
