Obituary of Juanita Pearl Sellers

Juanita Pearl “Nita” Sellers was born in Blackwell, Oklahoma July 10th, 1929 to Alvin and Anna Pearl (Sexton) Long. She attended Tulsa Public Schools, graduating from Central High School in 1947. She married Jimmy L. Sellers in 1948 to whom she was married for 59 years until his death in 2008. She worked as secretary at Spartan School of Aeronautics, Stanolind Oil and Douglas Aircraft helping put Jimmy through college. Nita then attended the University of Tulsa in 1963 where she obtained her Bachelor's degree in 1967 and her Masters in 1976. She taught elementary Speech/Drama and Music in Tulsa Public Schools for 24 years, where she helped write the Elementary Speech/Drama curriculum and directed many programs and plays. She taught at Remington, Patrick Henry, Nimitz, and Phillips Elementary Schools and served as president of the Tulsa Elementary Speech Teachers and Delta Kappa Gamma educational groups. Following her retirement in 1991, she was an active member of the Tulsa Retired Teachers Association, serving as president, vice president, and song leader for many years. Music played an important part in Nita's life, she sang as a soloist and in choruses for most of her life. As a member of First united Methodist Church in Tulsa she has served as a children's choir director, adult choir director, Chamber Choir member and Cathedral Choir member since 1967. Nita combined her talents of singing and sewing by serving as costume chairman of the FUMC Madrigal dinners for 22 years. Nita sang many solos and performed many cantatas and chorales. One of the most memorable was performing the mother in "Amahl and the Night Visitors" with her son, Joel in the role of Amahl. Jim and Nita were members of the Joyner Sunday School Class and served as members of the Special Events Committee. Nita also enjoyed being a member of the University of Tulsa Hurricane Women, Knife and Fork Club, and attending TU football and basketball games. After retiring, Jim and Nita were docents for Gilcrease Museum for 6 years. They learned a lot about Indian tribes, Western expansion, and the art of documenting that history. They also gave lectures for schools and other organizations about the different art and artists shown at Gilcrease. Nita is survived by daughters, Sonnie Sue Wright and her husband, Richard of McKinney TX, Terri Homsey of Tulsa, Karen Sellers of Oklahoma City; son, Joel Sellers and his wife, Lori of Phoenix, AZ; sisters, Shirley Staires of Tulsa, LeVon Tolbert and her husband, Eddie of Bartlesville, OK; brother-in-law, Bill Sellers of Collinsville, OK and sister-in-law, Virginia Lee Martin of Fayetteville, AR; 10 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren: Julie (Wright) and Chris Newkirk, their children, Brandon and Jordan; Brandi Wright; Jason and Callie Homsey, their children Hayden, Jackson, and Jake; Josh and Katie Wright, their children Marshall and Hunter; Lindsey Homsey and her daughter Josie; Thomas Sellers; Rachel Sellers. A memorial service will be held 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, June 21, 2016, First United Methodist Church. In lieu of flowers, friends may contribute in Nita's memory to the First United Methodist Church Music Department, 1115 S Boulder Ave., Tulsa, OK 74119