Funeral service for Glenda Marie Stanton will be 1:30 p.m. Friday, May 17, 2024 in Becker-Rabon Funeral Home Chapel with Terry Marsh officiating.

Burial will follow in Highland Cemetery.

The family will greet friends from 5-7 pm Thursday at the funeral home.

Glenda Marie Stanton died Thursday, May 9, 2024 in Lawton, Oklahoma at the age of 86.  She was born November 5, 1937 in Lawton, Oklahoma to Foster T. and Glenn (McCord) Doan.  She grew up in Lawton and graduated  from Lawton High School in 1955, a proud member of the first class to graduate from the "new" building.  She attended Cameron State Agricultural College and later earned her bachelor's degree from Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, Oklahoma, graduating Cum Laude.  She married the love of her life, Jimmy Royce Stanton, on August 11, 1962 at the First United Methodist Church in Lawton.

Glenda's passion as an educator spanned over three decades. She began her teaching career in Elk City, Oklahoma. She then accepted a position to teach in Apache, Oklahoma and was responsible for instituting the school systems' first Kindergarten program.  She would later become a kindergarten teacher in the Lawton Public Schools at Geronimo Road Elementary School.  Although she officially retired in 1996, Glenda's love for teaching kept her in the classroom much longer, and she found herself substitute teaching, private tutoring, and homeschooling for as long as her health allowed.

Glenda was always active.   She was involved in her children's activities when they were younger, attending sporting events and sponsoring their scouting activities. She and Jimmy were members of the Lawton Little Birds and traveled often with friends in their bright red 1956 Thunderbird.  Amongst her many talents, Glenda loved art, music and dance.  Glenda was also an avid cyclist and helped organize and launch the first St. Jude's Bike-A-Thon in Apache, OK, to raise funds for the children's research hospital. In her later years, she could be found biking all over Lawton with her grandchildren and dogs in tow. Anyone who knew Glenda also knew she loved animals. She rescued countless animals over the course of her life and was rarely found without a dog hiding in her sweatshirt.

Above all else, Glenda was a strong woman of faith. It was her faith that carried her through her fight and victory over breast cancer.  She was a member of Lawton First United Methodist Church, active in UMW, and enjoyed visiting those who were homebound or confined to nursing homes. Glenda's life was dedicated to ensuring everyone she knew also knew the love and hope of Jesus Christ.

She is survived by her husband, of the home; two sons and daughters-in-law, Dr. Steve and Katherine Stanton, Houston, Texas and J.R. and Angie Stanton, Cache, Oklahoma; eight grandchildren and their spouses, Kirsta and Hunter Bowles, Kenna and Sam Melton, Hanna Stanton, Parker Stanton, Chandler Stanton, Sabrina Stanton, Sophia Stanton, and Steven Stanton; and two great granddaughters, Kennedy Bowles and Vivienne Melton.

Her parents, two brothers, Gene and Harold Doan, and a sister, Virginia Neumann, preceded her in death.

Memorial contributions may be made to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.