Rozella Bozarth

On Thursday, February 21, 3:00am, Rozella Bozarth stepped into heaven at the age of 95. Rozella was born on September 12, 1923, in Chickasha, Oklahoma, to Felix and Grace Gamble. She graduated from Chickasha High School and then earned an associate degree from Oklahoma College for Women. Her love for God and a desire for ministry prompted her to attend Central Bible Institute (now Central Bible College) in Springfield, Missouri. Upon graduation, she returned to Chickasha and worked in her Dad's insurance agency and for Bell as a telephone operator. It was at church she met the love of her life, Olan Bozarth, who had recently returned from the war. After a brief courtship, they were married on January 5, 1949. When Olan accepted a position with Caterpillar, they moved to Tulsa. Rozella made the decision to stay at home where she put her heart and soul into raising their three girls and a niece. When her eldest daughter was a junior in high school, Rozella began a 25-year career as an administrative assistant with Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association. Rozella loved life and people. She believed being positive was a choice and lived a life full of gratitude, never missing an opportunity to say "thank you" for even the smallest act of kindness. Her example was an inspiration to all who knew her. She was an encourager who always chose to see the best in people. You would never hear her say a negative word about anyone. She believed in forgiveness, showing mercy and grace to others. Rozella was a talented musician. Upon entering heaven, one of her desires is to thank her first music teacher for the life-long gift of playing the piano. Rozella also encouraged her girls to develop their talents through horseback and art lessons for Margaret, voice for Judy, and piano lessons for all. She had an enthusiasm for learning new things and enrolled in many enrichment classes, such as public speaking (to help her as PTA president), cooking, cake decorating, candy making, quilting, wrapping packages, and even napkin folding! Her cooking classes resulted in memorable ethnic dinners for her family. If we couldn't go to China, she would bring China to us! She went all out, creating an ambiance to these meals through music and even decor. She was a fun mom! Books were Rozella's friends! She loved reading. She owned the entire collection of Grace Livingston Hill's Christian romance fiction books. One of her favorite non-fiction books was How To Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie. She also loved to read books about angels and heaven, focusing her mind on the positive and things above. Along with reading, she liked writing. Feeling inspired, she wrote a book titled Counting My Blessings Five Thousand ways. Loving inspirational quotes, in 2004, she began collecting her favorites. This resulted in her first bound volume of 500 quotes for family and friends titled Thoughts To Ponder (Challenge & Inspire). Since then, she has bound four more volumes of 500 quotes each, never repeating a quote. In all, that's 2,500 quotes! She has three more volumes that are ready to go but have not been bound. One of the last quotes on her nightstand was: "Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means you have decided to look beyond the imperfections" (T. Bernard). This was our mom; she looked beyond the imperfections and saw the perfect! Central to Rozella's life was her faith. She was a prayer warrior and read her Bible daily. She would most want to be remembered for pointing the way to Christ. She loved the Lord with her whole heart and was a role model to her family and others as she walked out her Christian life. Whether making clothes for little girls or taking care of an elderly friend, she did it all as unto the Lord. She was generous with her time, money and talents. At church, she played the piano, organ, and vibraharp, taught Sunday school, lead the youth group, directed the children's choir, and headed up the missions department. She had a heart for missions and supported many missionaries, in particular, the Shumway's, a family in India with three little girls. To her family, Rozella was the kind, talented, persevering, and tenacious woman spoken of in Proverbs 31. Rozella was recently preceded in death by her husband of 70 years, Olan. She was also preceded in death by her father and mother, Felix and Grace Gamble, four brothers, Alton, Don, Harold, and Leslie, and a sister, Patsy Ruth. She is survived by her three daughters, a niece she raised, and their spouses, Judith and Bill Kelley (Tulsa, OK), Janice and Richard Potter (Kellyville, OK), Joan and Mike Poling (Tulsa, OK), and Margaret and Ronnie Ferguson (Jasper, TX). Rozella is survived by five grandchildren and their spouses, Brandon and Adrienne Potter (Owasso, OK), Jami and Todd Hackler (Poteau, OK), Rachael and Hans Stockenberger (Saudi Arabia), Katie and Theo Sheppard (Rockville, MD), and Matthew and Sarah (O'Connor) Nolan (Gainesville, FL). She is survived by seven great grandchildren, Chandler Potter, Lola Potter, Solei Hackler, Brek Hackler, Astrid Sheppard, Elowen Sheppard, and Olan Sheppard. Donations may be given in memory of Rozella to Saint Simeon's Foundation. Visitation will be 2-4 PM, Sunday, February 24, 2019 at Moore's Southlawn, 9350 E. 51st, Tulsa, OK. Funeral service will be 1:00 P.M., Monday, February 24, 2019 at Moore's Southlawn Chapel, Tulsa, OK. Moore's Southlawn 918-663-2233

Rozella Bozarth

September 12, 1923 - February 21, 2019