Zona Mills

Zona Levon Hunkapillar Mills passed away on September 24, 2025, at her home in Irving, TX surrounded by her family. She was born on February 6, 1949 to Light Pleasant Hunkapillar and Dollie Ganella Swafford Hunkapillar at the home that Light built for his family on their 5 acres in Glover, Ok. The youngest of seven siblings, she was affectionately referred to as Pee Wee by her family in her early years. She attended Glover school then Broken Bow High School. While in school, Zona performed well in academics, played basketball and enjoyed supporting the Broken Bow Savages during her time as a cheerleader. During a night out with a friend, she met Gary Mills which changed the course of both of their lives. They fell in love, and the young couple married in 1966 in Broken Bow, OK. They soon welcomed their first daughter, Shonda. They then moved their growing family to Irving, TX. Three more children were born to the couple Shelley, Sheryl, and Gary Lee which completed their family. To accommodate their large family, they built a home there in 1980 and remained there for the rest of their married life.

Zona took great pride working in the home her entire life. She enjoyed sewing, baking, crafting, decorating, photography, canning and genealogy. She made beautifully decorated cakes for all her children's birthdays. She sewed lovely dresses for her girls when they were young and made countless formal dresses for everything from choir performances to weddings. Zona especially loved to garden. She planted a large garden every spring and canned what the family didn't eat to enjoy through the winter months. Zona also enjoyed vacationing with family and traveled the United States extensively. She spent many months researching the genealogy of her family and created beautiful family tree books for the whole family to cherish throughout the generations. She loved to get together with family anytime, but she really looked forward to spending time with loved ones during the holidays. Her grandchildren and great-grandchildren brought her great joy.

Although Zona loved her family very much, first and foremost, she was a devout follower of Jesus Christ. She found great pleasure donating Bibles to those in need of them.

Daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, grandmother, great-grandmother - It doesn't matter which role that you use to describe her because she excelled at them all. Zona loved her family with her whole heart, a trait that she learned from her own mother, Dollie. Her family loved her equally as much in return.

She is survived by her loving and devoted husband of 58 years, Gary Mills, her children Shonda Carter, Shelley Green, Sheryl Warner, and Gary Lee Mills, sisters Wanda Anderson and Ellen Huffman as well as numerous nieces, nephews, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents Light and Dollie Hunkapillar, her brothers, Leon Hunkapillar and Roland Hunkapillar and her sisters Mary Tucker and Mae Pollard.

Funeral services will be held Friday, October 3, 2025 at 2:00 P.M. at the Bowser Funeral Home Chapel with Brother Jon Hicks officiating. Interment will follow at the Hochatown Cemetery in Hochatown, Oklahoma. Visitation will be Thursday, October 2, 2025 from 6-8 P.M. at the Bowser Family Funeral Home Chapel Everyone who knew her loved her. Her absence will only be comforted by the knowledge that she is with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and that we will see her again.

If you would like to honor Zona by donating Bibles in her name, you can use the information listed below.

https://www.shopjsm.org/c-75-bible-thon.aspx

Little Sister a poem by Ravena Mae Hunkapillar Pollard, Aug., 1997

Momma's in the kitchen, cooking food to eat,

little Sister Zona playing at her feet.

A little shoe box sitting behind the stove.

It held Brother Leon's horny toads.

Little Sister Zona playing on the floor,

crawled behind the stove, right beside the door.

Momma missed Sister and started to look around,

she was quite shocked at what she found.

Little Sister Zona was hid behind the stove,

chewing on one of Leon's horny toads.

Online Guestbook: www.bowserffh.com