Nita Jeffus Talbert

Nita Jeffus Talbert was born on February 20, 1925, in Texarkana, Arkansas to Daniel Myron Jeffus and Mary Edith (Pace) Jeffus. She was the fourth child of five children. She grew up in a Christian home that believed in God and the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Nita attended public schools in Texarkana, Arkansas and graduated in 1942. She graduated from Texarkana Junior College in 1943, and attended and graduated from Vanderbilt University in Nashville with a BSN in 1946.

While in nursing school, the federal government initiated the nurse cadet corp., to train nurses for military service. The last six months of nursing school were spent at the U.S. Naval hospital in Chelsea, Massachusetts. Following graduation, she returned to Texarkana to work in a local hospital.

In 1947, while riding a local city bus she met Joe T. Talbert, the love of her life. They were married on February 1, 1948. Joe was attending the University of Arkansas and so they moved to Fayetteville.

While Joe was in school, she began working at the V.A. Hospital in Fayetteville. She was a surgery supervisor when she resigned in 1958. On September 16, 1957 a beloved son was born and he was named Joseph Thomas Talbert, Jr.

Nita and family moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1958. Over the years, they moved to Drumright, Oklahoma, Cushing, Oklahoma, and finally to a farm near Stroud, Oklahoma.

Nita worked at the Cushing and Stroud hospitals. When she retired in 1995, she was the director of nursing at Stroud Hospital. Upon retirement, she had completed 40 years in nursing.

Nita and family lived on a farm north of Stroud, where they raised livestock. Over the years they cleared and improved the land. When her husband died in May 2018, she continued to live on the farm until her death.

Nita is survived by her son Joseph Thomas Talbert, Jr. and his wife Kelly; her grandchildren Laura Smoot, Justin Talbert and his wife Jennifer, Chelsea Wright and her husband Zack; her great grandchildren Megan Smoot, Dasan Smoot, Sophia Talbert, Lincoln Talbert, and Copelan Wright.

Nita was preceded in death by her husband Joe T. Talbert; parents Daniel Myron and Mary Edith Jeffus; sisters Hazel Furlow and Wanda Jeffus; brothers Edison Dale Jeffus and Daniel Myron Jeffus, Jr and daughter in law Penny Hickman Talbert.

There will be a come and go viewing Thursday, September 11, 2025 from 10am to 8pm at Parks Brothers Funeral Service in Stroud, OK. A funeral service will be Friday, September 12, 2025, at 10:00 AM at Stroud First Baptist Church with burial to follow at Euchee Valley Memorial Cemetery, Cushing, OK.