Ila Duren Livingston was born March 29, 1918 to Homer A. Duren and Johnnie Effie (Stroud) Duren in Zion, Arkansas. She died in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Sunday, July 22, 2018.
Ila graduated from Purcell High School, Purcell, Oklahoma in 1936. She received a Bachelor of Science Degree from OSU in 1948, known as Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College, at that time. She also received a Masters Degree from OSU in 1951.
She married Claude Melvin Livingston April 23, 1943 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. He died August 30, 1991 in Arkansas City, Kansas.
Ila was a graduate of Clarez Beauty School in Ada, Oklahoma. She worked as a beautician in Ada. She also worked for the telephone company in Oklahoma City, before becoming a teacher.
She taught school for 35 years and retired from teaching in 1981. Ila taught in Washington Lawton, Gracemont, and Anadarko, Oklahoma. She then moved to Arkansas City, Kansas and taught there for 21 years.
She taught three years in Hillcrest Bible Baptist Christian School, after retiring from public school.
Ila grew up with six brothers and three sisters. They were a close-knit family, always helping each other.
She lived through the "Dust Bowl" and the "Great Depression," when money was scarce and "hand-me-downs" were all the rage.
Her hobbies were tennis, chess, china, and oil painting. She gave most of her paintings to relatives and friends. She was also an avid bridge player.
Ila traveled extensively � visiting all 50 states and 61 foreign countries, visiting many of them more than once. She took several ocean and riverboat cruises � a baker's dozen or more.
She lived in several states, during her lifetime: Arkansas, Oklahoma, South Dakota, California, Texas and Kansas.
Ila was a member of Eastland Baptist Church, Tulsa, Oklahoma. She knew Christ as her personal Savior. She loved to attend church and Sunday School. Ila prayed for her nieces and nephews, that they would come to know Christ as she did. All of her brothers and sisters were Christians. She was reared in a Christian home. Her oldest brother was a Baptist preacher for over 50 years.
She loved her family very much and all her nieces and nephews and her many friends; especially, her friends at Eastland Baptist Church.
Service 10:00 a.m., Thursday, July 26, 2018
Moore's Eastlawn Chapel
Moore's Eastlawn Chapel
918-622-1155