Lettie Fern Matthews

A funeral service in honor of Lettie Fern Matthews will be conducted on Friday, June 13, 2025, at 1:00 P.M. in the chapel of Ferguson Funeral Home, with Sister Alice Wendling officiating. Lettie Fern Matthews was born on June 26, 1931, in Marlow, Oklahoma, to Ernest Franklin Bird and Eula Florence (Hall) Bird. She departed this life on June 8, 2025, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Fern spent her formative years in the Marlow and Chickasha area. In 1949, she married Harvey Sanders, with whom she had four children. Fern later married Samuel Matthews in Oklahoma City. After his passing, she met Charlie Inman, a special companion. Fern was a homemaker, had a home daycare and later retired from Will Rogers Airport.

Fern was a wonderful mother and a beloved Mema. She had a deep affection for everyone she met—no one was a stranger, and everyone was greeted with one of her signature warm hugs. She embraced others with love throughout her life, even at the very end. We are so grateful to have had her for 93 beautiful years filled with “making memories”. She was a true blessing to all of us. To her children she was “just your momma” and to everyone else she was “just your Mema”.

She especially enjoyed sewing, crocheting, and quilting, always creating beautiful gifts for her children and grandchildren. Her hands were constantly busy, crafting something meaningful, and she loved passing down songs and stories from her childhood – “I Dropped My Dolly in the Dirt” and “O Playmate Come Out and Play with Me”. She also enjoyed treasure-hunting at yard sales, always on the lookout for little gifts she knew would bring joy to her family.

Fern’s heart was always full of love. She was a wonderful cook, especially known for her famous cinnamon rolls, “Mema biscuits”, chocolate gravy, and homemade pecan pies. She was generous and deeply loving—always ready to give, always ready to help. Her greatest joy was caring for and supporting her family. And above all, she always gave “a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck.”

Fern was preceded in death by husband, Harvey Sanders; husband, Samuel Matthews; her special companion, Charlie Inman; her parents; her sisters, Anita Ricca and Hazel Grennon; and two beloved grandsons, Timothy Sanders and Nicholas Tucker.

Those left to cherish her memory include her son, Jimmy Sanders and spouse, Judy, of Chickasha; daughters, Florence Bishop and spouse, Ronnie, of Edgewater, Florida; Joan Tucker of Ardmore; Connie Sanders of Ardmore; and Sandy Foster and spouse Bobby, of Rush Springs. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Rusty Sanders and spouse, Melissa, of Chickasha; Angela Brock of Dibble; Richie Tucker of Norman; Zak Sanders of Ardmore; Mandy Sanders of Ardmore; Candice Westbrook and spouse, Shawn, of Ardmore; Philip Foster of Rush Springs; and Thomas Foster and spouse Kim, of Duncan, along with twenty four great-grandchildren and thirteen great-great-grandchildren; her dearest friend of 48 years, Lina Jackson; and numerous extended family members and friends.

Though she has left this world, her legacy of love, kindness, and warm hugs will live on in all of us.

A viewing for Fern will take place on Friday, June 13, 2025, from 10:00 A.M. until 12:00 P.M. Interment will follow at Fairlawn Cemetery, under the guidance of Ferguson Funeral Home.