Donnie Leon Kinslow

Funeral services for Donnie Leon Kinslow will be held Thursday, April 29, 2010 at 2:30 PM at the Parks Brothers Funeral Home Chapel in Okemah. Interment will follow at the Little Cemetery in Seminole County. On Monday, April 26, 2010, ninety one year old Donnie Leon (Lamm) Kinslow of Cromwell journeyed from this life to join loved ones in eternal life. Beloved wife, mother, mother, in law, grandmother, and friend; her absence will leave a void. But that void will be filled with many warm and wonderful memories of a loving, kind, caring, hardworking woman whose passion in life was her family. Donnie overcame many obstacles as a young girl. Her mother died when she was only seven, and her father, being ill-equipped to take care of a child, left her in care of neighbors. From the age of seven until thirteen; Donnie went from friends to aunts, to uncles, to an orphanage. She came to Cromwell where she stayed with cousins until she met and married Guy Kinslow when she was eighteen. The way she was raised affected the way Donnie raised her own children. Her children and husband were her life. She was always there when they needed her, always ready to help, always involved in their lives and her grandchildren’s’ lives, and always ready to give a pat on the back. She would have been in earthly heaven had all of her children built a home and lived within walking distance from her. A crafter for many her 91 years; Donnie’s house and the houses of her family and friends bear witness to her skill and creativity. As a seamstress (making prom dresses, children’s clothes, etc.) she was unsurpassed. When her daughters were younger, she and they would visit a department store and try on dresses that they liked. Donnie would sit and sketch the dresses, then recreate them at home. A lifelong crafter and seamstress; Donnie was also a prolific quilter. Many family members sleep warmly beneath one of Donnie’s quilts. Her interest in sewing evolved into making clothing for dolls. That interest led to her collection of about 200 dolls. She continued acquiring dolls until 2009, when she then proclaimed she “had enough”! Donnie was instrumental in helping establish the senior citizen center in Cromwell where she spent many joyful hours visiting, enjoying meals that were provided, and often playing dominoes with some of the regulars who play every day. A member of Skyview Baptist Church in Okemah for several years; Donnie began her lifelong walk with our Lord at the Cromwell Baptist Church when she was 16. Donnie held in great esteem her six children as well as their spouses whom she considered “her” children too. They are Klaus Kinslow (deceased), Kenneth and Sandra Kinslow of Cromwell, Ardith and Cliff Dillard of Colwich, Kansas, Hughlene and Curt Gillispie of Chase, Kansas, Carol Harris (deceased), and Barbara and Dennis Yeubanks of Cromwell. Waiting to meet Donnie on God’s holy shore are her husband of 61 years, Guy Kinslow, son Klaus Kinslow, daughter, Carol Harris, granddaughter Kendra (Yeubanks) Ingraham, and great-granddaughter, Tia Ingraham. Left to mourn her loss, rejoice in her reunion with her maker and celebrate her life are 19 grandchildren, 36 great-grandchildren, 13 great-great-grandchildren, and a host of other family and friends. Pallbearers will be grandsons and great-grandsons, Stanley Williams, Carl Gillispie, Corey Yeubanks, Clay Yeubanks, Clint Yeubanks, and Kye Yocham. Services will be under the direction of Parks Brothers Funeral Home of Okemah and officiated by Pastor Charles Jones.

Donnie Leon Kinslow

December 24, 1918 - April 26, 2010