Vivian Garnette (Wilcoxson) Waller was born in Stratford, Indian Territory on March 2, 1906 and died in Lawton on June 27, 2009. At a time when it was very unusual for girls, she was an outstanding athlete. With her partner, Dorothy Blanchard, she won the 1923 Oklahoma High School Girls Doubles Tennis Championship for Purcell High School. In order to defeat the Tulsa runner-up team, they played the longest match in Oklahoma state Tournament history until that time. As a student at Oklahoma Baptist University she played first violin in the orchestra, played piano, sang, debated and judged high school contests. She was voted OBU "Best All Around Girl" in 1925, and "Harvest Queen" of 1926. As a junior she was coach of the OBU women's basketball team and as a senior was coordinator of women's sports. She supported athletics generally and women's athletics specifically all of her life. Upon being graduated in 1927, Vivian taught high school English, Spanish and speech in her home town of Purcell until 1935 when she married Ernest Waller and moved to Lawton. It was a time when school boards were reluctant to hire married teachers; however, because of her specific skill, she was sought out to teach at Emerson Grade School and start a physical education program there. For ten years, from 1945 until 1955, she focused her efforts on volunteer work both in Lawton and state-wide. She was president of the Lawton PTA council and initiated the campaign for a new high school, which became reality in 1954. From 1955 until her retirement in 1971 she taught eighth grade English. She was elected Lawton Teacher of the Year in 1965. After being retired from classroom teaching she taught GED preparation for an additional eighteen years. She used summer vacations to travel the world and eventually visited all of the inhabited continents. She was an exceptionally active member of the First Baptist Church and remained involved there even after becoming house-bound. She had been a member of Domestic Science and Spanish clubs. She was a member of Book and Play Club, Southwest Oklahoma Opera Guild, and Friends of the Library. She was an active member of PEO and Shakespeare Club. "I've served my time and now I can coast" was not her style of organization membership. As long as she was a member she was active - specializing in telephone committees in more recent times. Vivian was preceded in death by her husband, Ernest; her parents, Rev. William A. Wilcoxson and Pearl (Hyden) Wilcoxson; two brothers, Ray and Samuel (Bud); and half-sister, Martha Jane. She is survived by a son, John and his wife Lou of Norman; a granddaughter, Jennifer Waller of Seattle, Washington; a grandson, Dr. David Waller of Oxford, Ohio; six surviving nieces and a nephew; and many grand and great-grand nieces and nephews. Services will be 2:00 pm Tuesday, July 7, at First Baptist Church with Rev. Tom Willoughby, Associate Pastor, officiating. Burial will be in the Highland Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to Oklahoma Baptist University, Women's Athletics, Shawnee, OK; the Lawton Shakespeare Club; or First Baptist Church, 501 SW B Ave., Lawton, OK 73501.