A Celebration of Life for Jackie Henry, 78, of Ada will be held on Friday, June 14, 2024, from 12:00-3:00 p.m. at Wintersmith Lodge in Ada with remarks and remembrances beginning at 1:00 p.m.
Ms. Henry passed away peacefully Friday, May 24, 2024, at her home, surrounded by those who loved her dearly. She was born October 1, 1945, in Ada to Odus L. and Mary Ruby Woodruff McGalliard. She lived in the Ada and Sulphur area her whole life.
Ms. Henry’s first passion was for teaching, and she was a well-loved teacher at Sulphur High School in the early 1970s. She was a social worker for the Department of Human Services in both Murray and Carter Counties and was employed at the Oklahoma School for the Deaf in-between her time with DHS.
After retirement, Jackie turned her focus and energy to DIY home improvement projects and bragged at least once a year that she cut and laid the new tile during her bathroom remodel. She also took great pleasure in globetrotting with her brother, Don and his wife Eloise and often remarked that two kids from Vanoss, or Latta, or Ada (all places they lived growing up) were a long way from home and finally seeing the world. Jackie felt very proud to have visited Scotland, England, Ireland, Switzerland, the whole Alaska coastline, British Columbia, and Athens, Greece.
She was a cancer survivor, beating Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2015. When her health no longer allowed for traveling, she had a brief stint as an amateur artist, inspired by a night out at the Rusty Nail Winery, pairing wine with a painting class, resulting in an embarrassing attempt at a pastoral scene. Blaming the combination of chemo and wine her first failure, she put all her efforts into proving to herself she could create something worthy of hanging on a wall and feverishly made seven canvases until her hands were overwhelmed with arthritis.
Her final passion, and one she was able to share with her son, Jason, was reading everything she could get her hands on about military history and history in general. They began a book club of two, exchanging books by mail and discussing them afterward.
She is survived by her son, Jason Henry and wife, Joi, of Midland, TX; daughter, Kyla Henry of Portland, OR; two granddaughters, Rebecca Lynn Henry of Midland, TX, and Sarah Lynn Henry of Midland, TX; and a dear friend, Paula Myers Hatton of Ada.
She was preceded in death by her parents and by her “big” sister, Kay Tucker of Ada, and her “little” brother Don “Butch” McGalliard, of Madisonville, TX.
In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Jackie’s honor to the Pontotoc County Animal Welfare Society or the American Cancer Society.
