June 12, 1934 — December 9, 2023

Services for Kathy Zehr will be 10:30AM, May 25, 2024 at First Baptist Church of Ponca City, Oklahoma. She passed away in her sleep December 9, 2023 after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s Disease. She was 89 years old. During the service we will offer a time for anyone to voice a reflection, memory, or express their thoughts about Kathy. She was truly a remarkable woman.

Kathy was born in the home of an aunt in the small town of Ringwood, Oklahoma to Whit (Bud) and Maudie Childers at the height of the Great Depression. She was the fourth of five children growing up dirt poor in the Ringwood and Fairview Oklahoma area until the age of 16 when the family moved to Alva. She attended and graduated from Alva High School (Go Goldbugs!), while holding down 2-3 jobs at a time as well as playing clarinet in the school band. There she met Dale Zehr and fell in love, a love that lasted 66 years until his death in 2017. After high school she and Dale married and because of his job with the Oklahoma State Highway Department they lived in many small towns all over Oklahoma. She would talk about some houses they lived in that had dirt floors and no electricity. She would hang wet bed sheets on the windows to keep the blowing dust out of their house. They settled in Newkirk, Oklahoma in 1955. Dale and Kathy moved to Ponca City in 1960 when Dale accepted a job at Evans and Throop Construction Company. During her life in Ponca City, she worked for Evans and Throop, the Kay County DA’s office (complete with a badge, ID and a gun permit!), and owned and operated the Gift Shoppe in downtown Ponca City. Her final and favorite job was with The Ponca City News as a staff and feature writer.

During her years at the Ponca City News, Kathy covered many stories of historical significance to Oklahomans. She was elected a member of the 101 Ranch Old-Timers Association because of her tireless work reporting on their history and activities. She wrote the column “Diggin’ in the Dirt” for many years, helping countless gardeners across the area as well as keeping up her own vegetable and flower gardens. Kathy felt most honored as a reporter to be asked to cover the Standing Bear Statue project from inception to the unveiling. She loved traveling to see the process of creating the statue from the ground up and meeting all the people involved.

She was also active in many clubs and organizations including the Sweet Adeline’s, the Jaycee Janes, the Soroptimists, and the Pioneer Genealogical Society to name a few. In each organization Kathy became a leader and innovator, always a positive force for improvement.

Kathy loved music and laughter. In addition to singing with Sweet Adelines, she and 3 friends formed a comedic Barbershop Quartet called Over Easy –complete with egg graphics placed strategically on their t-shirts. For many years these 4 women provided beautiful music and hilarious entertainment to many people.

Kathy loved her family and many friends dearly. She always emphasized the importance of family unity and would never allow disagreements to split the family bonds. She had the highest integrity and always treated everyone with respect and dignity.

She is survived and sorely missed by her three children, Robert (Bob) Zehr, Shawn Zehr Takikawa and Pat Zehr, grandchildren, Jason, Jeremy, Kimi, Kazumasu, Derick, Sam and 6 great grandchildren scattered across the US. Her love also extended to her adapted son Steve Struble (who sadly, passed away April 13) and his adopted son Billy Joe of South Korea.

Paid Obituary