Geneva Grant Summers (nee Collins) left this earthly plain peacefully in the early morning hours of Friday, October 20, 2017, three months after enjoying her 99th birthday celebration. She was the last of her generation, being preceded in death by her five siblings, Robert, John, Gordon ("Doc"), Dorothy, and Maxine. Two of her children passed before her: Penny DeEtte in June of 2015, and a baby daughter, Carolyn, who lived only five days, dying in 1936. Among those who survive her are her son Tom Grant, his wife Lori, her daughter Barbara Collins, 14 grandchildren (plus great grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren), and the scores of people for whom she served as loving aunt, surrogate mother, and/or gentle friend.
Geneva was born on a farm in Yukon, Oklahoma, on July 16, 1918. Her father, Bob, was a hardworking sharecropper. Her mother, Florence, was the farm wife typical of those times in that she raised the chickens (that they would then eat for Sunday dinner), maintained a vegetable garden with water that had to be pumped and carried from the well, cooked for the farm hands, rose before dawn each day to cook a hearty breakfast for her family, canned vegetables to provide for winter sustenance, and made the "best butter in the county." In addition to this and caring for her six children, she always found time and a way to travel to an ailing neighbor's bedside to provide comfort and assist in any way she could. These were the times when children were required from an early age to pitch in and help because it was necessary, and Geneva was one of those children. From this background she emerged with cemented values which included the importance of hard work, being honest, and keeping your word; loyalty and devotion to family; and compassion for those in need. She became a woman with true grit and a heart of gold, and she followed in her mother's footsteps as one who always managed to find the time to help friends, neighbors, and family when there was a need.
Those who knew Geneva will remember her as one who loved nature - birds, flowers, beautiful skies, and sunsets over the water - but as one who, most of all, loved her family.
Geneva lived a long, healthy, and fruitful life and will be missed by many. A celebration of her life will be held on November 5th at the home of her nephew, Warren Collins, in Oklahoma City.