Georgia Marlene Roberts Riek

A SALUTE TO GEORGIA MARLENE ROBERTS RIEK By Bob H. Riek… Dec. 2020 Marlene is not a person who toots her own horn, so being her biggest fan, it is up to me to toot it for her. She is a life-time (student); learning so many different subjects was such a big part of her life. She graduated from Miami Oklahoma High School with these honors in 1953. She was a drummer in the high school band and a piano player for different events. She was in the speech club and took top state honors in a speech contest at Oklahoma University. She was a member of the high school drama club as an actor or stage manager. She graduated from NEO, North Eastern Oklahoma A and M College with a 2-year degree in business. She was a member of the Northstars Drill Team. Their football team played in the Junior College Rose Bowl championship game where she marched on that historic field. They rode on school buses to California and back. She decided to give up a good paying job in Miami and move to Stillwater, Oklahoma to get her four-year degree from then, Oklahoma A and M Agricultural and Mechanical College, later to be OSU. Two years later, she received a business degree and a marriage license. At that time less than 5 percent of women in the U.S. had a college degree. She was a (working) girl: She worked as a cashier at the Coleman Movie Theater through her high school years to help support the family. She worked at the Buffalo Ranch Trading Post on Route 66; Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Tulsa; B.F. Goodrich tire plant in Miami; Stillwater Pontiac dealership; Assistant to the head of the math department at OSU; security department at General Dynamics Fort Worth, Texas; building manager’s office for the First National Bank in Okla. City; assistant to chief land man at Sohio Oil Co. in Okla. City; substitute high school teacher Santa Fe, NM. While a Kelly girl in Okla. City, where she had the executive secretary rating, she worked at numerous offices such as the Chancellor of Higher Education; General Manager of one of the local TV stations and where most often she would be offered a permanent job to stay on. She taught homebound students at Putnam City High School. Probably the lowest paying job she ever had was being the bookkeeper for JHBR Architects for a number of years. She moved from her working years and her child-rearing years to her (volunteering) years. After passing all of the training, she became a Dozen for the Okla. City Zoo and took several small animals to the schools and nursing homes on a weekly basis. One of her exhibits was a small owl. While driving the zoo-mobile, she would let it out of the container, and it would perch on her shoulder as she drove. One of her favorites was a prairie dog named Bonnie; another was a small alligator. She has always had such great affection for animals of all kinds, and I guess that includes me. She was not only a worker and a volunteer, she was a (joiner). She joined so many organizations and most often was elected to a leadership role in those organizations. She was a member and later president of the Parent’s Club for the Edmond High School Band. She was treasurer for the Edmond Women’s Club, the most prestigious women’s club in Edmond, where membership was by invitation only. She chaired the committee who interviewed those who had applied for the numerous grants handed out by the club. It took a lot of time but it was at the heart of what the club did. She was asked to run for president but declined. She was a member and president of the Oklahoma Hand Weavers League. She was a member of DAR, Daughters of the American Revolution and president of the local chapter. She was a member of Daughters of the American Colonists and The National Society Colonial Dames XVII Century. She spent many, many hours researching her genealogy; this was before (Ancestry.com). She had to offer written, documented proof to the national committees in order to be a member of those organizations. She had traced her line all the way back to the sixteenth century, and she has preserved that research. One summer when Jan was in the Skyriders Drum and Bugle Corp., she volunteered to travel as a sponsor and did so as they traveled the country, on busses, for about a month. Jan could tell you more about that one. While in Angel Fire, she joined the Music Over Angel Fire Gild, which brought in a classical music group from New York for about four weeks in the summer. Of all the organizations she volunteered her time to, none was as much as the time she spent at the Baptist Churches she belonged to. She spent countless hours, in her early adult life, working in many different capacities with the youth. Her other talent was recognized by her pastor and she was put in charge of writing and producing the annual budget promotion presentation for the membership banquet, a very big event. So impressed was the pastor, that he presented it to the state leaders. She was in charge of developing and running an after-school program for junior high kids that were not able to be picked up by their parents until later. The church was across the street from the school. She spent countless hours getting to know the kids and being there for them when they needed her. It was not a religious setting, which some of the membership objected to. She was a very accomplished (artist) and her medium was fiber. She was self-taught as well as the attendant of many, many short courses. Her artistry ranged from wearables to fiber landscapes to three dimensional sculptures. She exhibited her work at countless (juried) art shows as well as doing many commissioned works for individuals and corporations. She received many awards for her work including best in show. Through that avenue, she became such good friends with so many of the other artists. She was a (caregiver) for many years for her mother, who she arranged living spaces for, as well as countless hours of social support. She arranged for her assisted living quarters, and later, for almost ten years of nursing home care. She handled all of the financial arrangements and paperwork that goes along with that type of care. It was a daily commitment for many years and she handled it, as she did most things, with competence. She was the family (bookkeeper) as well as being the accounts receivable and accounts payable clerk. She was a trusted budget planner in those days when money was really tight. She had many accounting skills and would have majored in accounting in college, but was afraid of the math. She became very interested in the benefits of touch (therapy). She attended a school for the training and received a certificate to practice Massage Therapy and Therapeutic Touch. Later, while in New Mexico, she received training and reached the level of Reiki Master. She never practiced professionally, but she used her skills to improve the health of her family, mostly her husband. She is a good (listener). She is very capable of carrying the conversation, but prefers to listen. Over the years, we have noticed that when in a social setting of friends or strangers, that over the course of the evening someone would capture her undivided attention with their personal story. When asked about it, her usual reply was “I guess I have friendly ears” and that is true. She has an unassuming and non-threatening presence about her that attracts people who have some need to express personal and non-personal things to her. She is a person of personal (spiritual) achievement. She, long ago, formed her belief system about the spiritual world and how she could access that realm through visual encounters. It is unique to her and it has never been something she chooses to explain, as she sees no need to. She seems to be able to navigate through the dogma and doctrine of the Baptist, Methodist, and even the Unitarians without being infected. She will listen to your point of view, but apparently does not compare and contrast that to her own. If asked, I think she would say this is her most (important achievement). She conceived, carried, and birthed two perfectly healthy, beautiful, and smart babies. She mothered, doctored, protected, and supported them from their birth to the present day. They are her pride and joy and she has demonstrated parenting skills, love, and commitment to their well-being that is of the highest standard anyone could attain. She is the grandmother of Ashlyn and Meredith and has dedicated herself to being so. She helped Jan through the process of birth and all that followed. She has delighted in the role of Grandmommy, as she is referred to, and now the title of Great-Grandmommy, soon to be times two. Pages of details could be written as to how she has carried out the day-to-day translations of those roles, but that would entail the interviews with each participant, so I leave it to them to give their own (salute) to her. She is my wife of, as of this writing, 63 plus years. Need I say anything more than I have already said. If one would read all of the above, one would have to say those are the qualities of a wonderful wife and that is what she is. I could only add that for me, she is my lover, companion, friend, advisor, and spirit leader. I salute her in all of these ways of her accomplishments to date, and look forward to a continuation of who she is and how much she means to my life, the family, friends, and hundreds of others. One might ask the question: How has she accomplished so much in her, now, 85 years. Answer: She is very, very smart, and smart people can accomplish a lot if they choose to and she has chosen to. I write this salute so that others can stop and realize what an amazing person she is, if they have not already noticed. She is so unassuming in her character and actions that it is easy for her to go less appreciated than she deserves. I along with many others (Salute) you Georgia Marlene Roberts Riek.

Georgia Marlene Roberts Riek

July 4, 1935 - April 20, 2021