Dr. Jodie Adams Stark

1926 - 2021

Dr. Jodie Adams Stark

Dr. Jodie (Joe) Stark of Tulsa died on February 20, 2021 at the age of 94.

He was born May 28, 1926 in Marlow, Oklahoma, to Jessie Parker Stark and Nathan Henry Stark, just after his twin brother, Jim (Jamie), making him the youngest of eight children. The twins were taken into the home of Jon and Eslie Adams, who cared for them the first year of their lives because of the severe illness of their mother, who died 4 years later. Jodie would forever appreciate the sacrifices of his father and 3 sisters who raised him during this time of the Great Depression, as well as the support of his 3 older brothers.

Jodie attended Stover Elementary School and Rush Springs and Marlow High Schools. He was unable to serve in the army because he had contracted rheumatic fever, but was very proud of his twin, Jim for serving in the U.S. Army during the last year of World War Il during this time. Jodie worked for 3 years, then attended the University of Oklahoma, graduating in 1954 as a pharmacist. Knowing that his dream was to attend medical school, his former employer then offered to pay his expenses throughout medical school (attending would otherwise have not been possible) and he ultimately graduated from the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine in 1958.

He met Ernestene Green at the Baptist Student Union near the medical school in 1955. She was a student nurse. They married August 18, 1956, following which she worked as a registered nurse while he finished medical school and internship, taught nursing, and later after Cliff and Nancy were born she continued as the homemaker who made everything else possible. (From his autobiography): "I couldn't have chosen a better wife." He also wrote how he appreciated the care she gave him, especially in his later years.

After a 2 year residency in Springfield, Jodie served two years in the Air Force (during the Cuban Missile Crisis) as an anesthesiologist at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. After this, he joined Associated Anesthesiologists at St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa, where he worked from 1963 to 1992. Many of his patients expressed their appreciation for his dedication and hard work in caring for them during surgery. In his free time he enjoyed gardening (flowers, vegetables), shopping for antiques, reading, and travel.

Joe became a Christian at the age of 15. He attended church wherever he was, and later while working in Tulsa he was a member of Memorial Baptist Church (from 1963 to 2021). He enjoyed working with children and taught in the 4 year-old Sunday school class for 49 years, working also in the bus ministry. (From his own autobiography): 'Throughout my life I trusted God to do for me what I was unable to do for myself'. He also wrote that he knew that God was the One who had brought him so many blessings and the One responsible for any achievements.

Jodie was predeceased by parents, Jessie Parker Stark, Nathan Henry Stark, and stepmother, Pearl Hiner Anderson Stark; and by seven brothers and sisters: Paul, John, Irene, Annie, N.H., Jr., Mary Frances and Jamie (Jim). He was also predeceased by ten nephews and nieces and fifteen cousins. Others include his Aunt Harriet Stark Gibbons, Aunt Johnnie Parker Gallagher, Jon and Eslie Adams and their daughters, Helen and Dot, and Mr. Gene Byrd.

He is survived by wife, Ernestene Green Stark; son, Clifton Stark of Tulsa; daughter, Nancy Satzler and her husband, Tim Satzler of Oklahoma City; granddaughters, Crystal Stark of Tulsa and Jana Satzler of Oklahoma City; grandsons, Paul Stark and wife, Dallas Stark of Dallas, Texas, Ryan Stark and his wife, Erin Stark of Tulsa, and Alan Satzler of Oklahoma City. Great granddaughters are Carsyn Stark and Stella Stark of Tulsa and Elton Stark of Dallas. He is also survived by eighteen nieces and nephews.

Memorial Service will be 1:00 P.M., Monday, March 1, 2021, at Memorial Baptist Church, Tulsa, OK. Moore's Southlawn 918-663-2233. Share memories at www.moorefuneral.com