Sara May McEuen

"O, shit!"

Sara May McEuen, aka Moomaw, aka Miss Sara, died at home surrounded by loved ones on February 10, 2024, in Tulsa, OK.

Sara was born in McAlester, Oklahoma, on May 25, 1934 to Mary and Cornish Gardner. She grew up in McAlester, graduated from McAlester High School in 1952 and carried her Buffalo pride wherever she roamed.

Having never been anywhere outside of McAlester, Sara went on a solo adventure after high school, moving to New York City for a job. She rented a room in the Ansonia Hotel on the Upper West Side and got her taste of big city life. Later, rumors of her NYC stint circulated of her being a Rockette, lady of the night, and a lounge singer. In truth, she worked as a reservationist for National Airlines; at 5'8", she was told she was too tall to be a flight attendant.

Finding New York lonely and too full of New Yorkers, or "damn Yankees", she returned to Oklahoma within the year, got married, and spent the next two decades raising three children - Trudy, Roby, and Kara - and packing their lives into and out of boxes and U-Haul trucks. She always said, "M-o-v-e is the dirtiest four-letter word." During those years, they moved more than a dozen times, following the work of building dams with the Corps of Engineers - all over Oklahoma, to Richland and Walla Walla, Washington, back to Oklahoma, and, eventually, Texas, where she and her husband put down some roots in Euless.

Throughout the years, she worked a series of brief jobs, ranging from school cafeteria server to liquor store clerk to assembly line solderer. She dubbed the working life "something I tried once and didn't like" and was lucky enough to be supported by her husband's business, Recal Calibration Services, which is now run by their daughter Kara's family, the Powells. Bill, her husband of 41 years, died in 1996 from cancer.

In 1998, she returned to McAlester and rekindled many friendships, in particular with her McAlester High classmates. She always looked forward to attending the mini-class reunions, showing off the latest buffalo accessory, and eating the lamb fries at The Isle of Capri. She spent most of her free time out and about at McAlester's watering holes, visiting with friends, faces she knew, or even folks just passing through. Anywhere she went, she was a magnet attracting strangers of all ages, quickly becoming a fixture and a favorite.

By 2016, she had broken one bone too many and moved to Tulsa (again), to live with her eldest daughter, Trudy. She warned her, "Be careful - I spoil easy." And boy howdy. Wherever that woman went, people tripped over themselves to make sure she was comfortable and catered to. Until the end, she had her pillow fluffed, her socks warmed, her chocolate cup well-stocked, and her bread buttered with reckless abandon.

She was well-known for her love of all things color-coordinated, any item considered a conversation piece, chocolate, naughty jokes, and anything with bling. She was less-known for her love of the song "Strokin", black-and-white westerns and anything featuring Dwayne "The Rock'' Johnson. Most of you will remember her with a long skinny cigarette in one hand and a drink in the other, and that's probably just as she'd like it. She'd raise a glass and say, "Here's to those who wish us well, and those who don't can go to hell."

"Cheers, darlin'." Or "Sugar Babe." Or "Baby." Whatever name she called you, you won't forget. She leaves behind her a perfumed aura of authenticity that will continue to inspire us to live the same - unapologetically, loudly, even proudly. This made her "Unforgettable" (the Nat King Cole version, she insisted).

Sara was preceded in death by her parents, Cornish and Mary Gardner; her husband, Bill; her sister, Helen Hawkinson, and many beloved in-laws and extended family members. She is survived by her sister and family, Mary K Dobinski, of Grand Junction, CO; her three children and their families, Trudy McEuen-Heck and Diane Rawlings of Tulsa, OK; Roby and Gina McEuen of Fort Worth, TX, and Kara and Harry Powell, of Euless, TX; her six grandchildren and their families, Siara Jacobs, Laurel McEuen, Warner Powell, Heather Heck, Kayla Montgomery, and Rachel McEuen; one great-grandchild, Connor Jacobs, and another on the way; and many friends and admirers, near and far.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 1pm on Saturday, February 24, at the Tulsa County Bar Association, 1446 S. Boston Ave. Lunch will be served, and feel free to bring a snack, side, or *any* beverage of your choice.

Please consider wearing your purple or any colorful ensemble that Sara would approve of. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Saint Jude's Children's Hospital.

"Vaya con dios."