Loleta Vian Johnson

Loleta Vian Johnson was born on March 23, 1938 in Tank, Oklahoma. She peacefully passed away after a hard-fought battle with illness on January 5, 2023 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Loleta grew up in Locust Grove, Oklahoma, raised by the guiding hand of her mother, Flossie Woods. Loleta attended Locust Grove High School, where she was an "A" student, played basketball, and was drum majorette (a favorite picture is one of her high-stepping in full uniform). She had Liz Taylor-like beauty with coal black hair, fair complexion and bright red lipstick, and was chosen as Pryor Daily Times' Miss March 1963.
Loleta began her working career as a secretary, with notable local companies as Mid-Continent Casualty, ESCOA, and two construction firms that built the Keystone Dam and the Markham Ferry Dam. After a correspondence course in 1963, she moved into bookkeeping and accounting clerk positions for various companies in Pryor and Tulsa. In 1972, she helped her then-husband build Metal Processing, Inc., where she was corporate secretary and office manager for twenty-one years. She finished her career as a bookkeeper at a small business, and at age 67, she took Vo-Tech computer classes to learn how to use technology to increase the office's bookkeeping efficiency. Because of her background as accounting clerk, most of us have some memory of being instructed by her on how to improve our finances, start a budget, reconcile a checkbook, the importance of saving, and not getting too deep in debt. She was never terribly wealthy, but she was financially wise when it came to living within your means.
Loleta was a member of Catoosa Church of Christ. Although her health didn't allow her to attend services during the last portion of her life, she was a faithful believer in God, and in Jesus as her Savior. During her years of active church service, she loved teaching children's bible classes and VBS. Fellowship with other members was always key to her; oh, how she loved talking to people!
Loleta loved to sing, whether it was at church, or along with the radio, in her beautiful soprano voice. Dancing was a favorite activity during all of her life, and she could do it all with ease ballroom, swing, two-step, and even square dancing. Cathey has fond memories of Mom and David jitterbugging in the kitchen on many occasions. She was also a self-taught, natural talent artist. As a young girl, she won a contest with her costume design for a comic book superhero (sorry, we can't remember who the superhero was). Her doodles were never simple, but were of beautiful ball gowns, southern belle dresses, pinup beauties, or sweeping landscapes. A proud moment was when she won ribbons on her submissions at a fair in the 1990's; those pieces were always on display at her house. Birding was a favorite hobby that she enjoyed with her mother, and passed down to whomever would learn, but it caught with her daughter especially. There was always excitement when a new bird was sighted and a new entry could be made in her bird book. Phone calls describing details of beak, feathers, wings and tails were exchanged often, trying to identify unknown birds before they took flight.
Loleta was loved by family and friends, and will be dearly missed. She is survived by her son, G. David Bates, and wife Theresa, of Locust Grove; daughter Cathey Gillingham, and significant other David Bach, of Tulsa; grandchildren Tina Van Horn of Chouteau; Justin Bates, and wife Misty, of Locust Grove; and Lauren Mincey of Tulsa; great grandchildren Olivia, Ian, Averie, Emerie, Kaitlyn, Brady, Caden, Kayce, and Mayce; great-great granddaughter Jadelyn; brother-in-law Mayes Key of Locust Grove; dear nieces and nephew; childhood friend, Tabby Davis of Tulsa; other beloved family, and many lifelong and recently-made friends.
Loleta is preceded in death by her mother, Flossie Woods; brother, Joe Adams; and sister, Wanda Key.