Retha "Irene" (Lewis) Gideon

Retha IRENE (Lewis) Gideon passed away in Gainesville, TX on Friday, April 14, 2023 at the age of 98 ½.  Graveside services will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 20, 2023 at Wolf Cemetery, South of Seminole.  Pastor Carl Whitfield will officiate.

Irene, the eldest child of Tomie and Myrtle Lewis was born September 24, 1924 South of Wolf in rural Seminole county.  Irene attended and graduated from Wolf Schools.  She moved to Oakland, California where she reconnected with M.W. Gideon from Vamoosa, OK.  They married on January 19, 1947 in Oakland, CA.  They moved to several states following M.W.’s career as a pipeline welder, and then back to Oklahoma before starting a family. They eventually settled 10 miles South of Seminole, across from the Wolf Cemetery. 

Irene was a homemaker and actively involved as a scout leader, home-room mother, band parent, and PTA leader throughout their children’s lives. She went to work for Wright Construction in Seminole in 1972 and continued to work for Wright Real Estate until M.W.’s stroke in 2004.  Irene tended to all of M.W.’s needs until he passed in 2012.  She was a lifelong member of the Wolf First Baptist Church and then the Wolf Freewill Baptist Church.

Irene eventually moved to Gainesville, TX to be close to her daughter Cyndy Gideon, and her husband Jim Corman.  She lived independently for several years before moving to Cyndy’s home and eventually to Renaissance Care Center in November, 2022 when she lived out her life.

She is survived by her two daughters- Kerry Lynn McNutt and husband Danny McNutt of Oklahoma City, Cyndy Gideon and husband Jim Corman, of Gainesville, TX, and youngest brother Teddy Lewis and his wife Georgia Lewis of rural Seminole county.

Irene is preceded in death by her beloved husband, M.W. Gideon, her parents Tomie and Myrtle Lewis, and her younger brother Gene Lewis.  Special friends include Larry and Faye Wright of Seminole, OK. 

Irene loved her cats and dogs throughout the years and was seldom without one or both.  Her love of animals, sewing, crafting, gardening, and casinos was passed down to her daughters.  She was loved and cherished as a mother, wife, and friend.

Services are under the direction of Swearingen Funeral Home in Seminole, Oklahoma.

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