Tonya Gaylene Morton (Krout) left this world on January 22, 2020. She was born on April 29, 1965 to Dale and Carol Krout in Ponca City, Oklahoma. There, Tonya graduated from Ponca City High School and went on to receive her Bachelors degree in Early Childhood Development from Oklahoma State University. While attending OSU Tonya met her soul mate, Troy Morton. Tonya and Troy married in 1988 and built a beautiful and fun life together rarely doing anything separate from each other. They shared the same love for camping, traveling, gardening, cooking and spending every chance they could with their nieces and nephews by attending all of their sporting events and entertaining many sleep overs.

Tonya had a true love for educating and caring for children and their families. She and Troy purchased Kids Under Construction, Early Learning Centers in Stillwater, Oklahoma and successfully ran their business side by side.

While owning the centers, Tonya developed lifelong relationships with her coworkers whom were more like a family to her.

She had a true passion for her career and was involved with many different organizations in Oklahoma which allowed her to continue to grow her own passion and education, as well as those of her coworkers. She truly loved every person who walked through the doors at KUC and she always made every child feel like they were at home, and she greatly enjoyed seeing them grow up and come back to visit.

Upon retirement and closing the business, Tonya enjoyed spending every minute she could outdoors. She enjoyed tending to her many flower beds and gardens, riding around with her father in his pasture, checking on his cows, talking what project they would work on next, and spending time with her mother doing puzzles. When Tonya wasn’t enjoying nature, she could be found inside doing something creative, and she always seemed to have a project or two in the works making her home beautiful.

Tonya loved spending time with her family at the Krout family campsite, out on the farm, or enjoying a big meal in her home. She loved her nieces and nephews more than anything, and loved sharing the Krout family history with them by telling all the stories and pulling out old photos.

Tonya will be missed by many, her thumbprint on life stretched very far. Over the last few years she developed very close relationships with her caregivers whom became friends.

Tonya was preceded in death by her devoted husband Troy, her parents Dale and Carol Krout, her grandparents Griff and Grace Jones and Howard and Alice Krout, many aunts and uncles and close relatives. She is survived by her two brothers; Bobby Krout and wife Marjorie of Ponca City, and Andrew Krout and wife Cinda of Stillwater; nieces Whitney King of Ponca City, Brittney Swain and husband Joshua of Ponca City, and nephews Shelby Krout of Ponca City, and Coleman and Cannon Krout of Stillwater; great niece and nephews Trevor, Daniel, Rylee, and Grady of Ponca City.

Services will be held Thursday 2:00 P.M. January 30, 2020 in the First Baptist Church Glencoe with Rev. Irvin Haken officiating. Services were entrusted to the Poteet Funeral Home and Cremation Services, friends can leave a memory for the family at www.poteetfuneraalhome.com. paid obituary