RIP - Elaine Mix Underwood

[Mike Simpson]

March 19, 2012

I am sorry to pass along the news of another 67 Classmate loss, Elaine Mix Underwood. 

Susie

Elaine W. Underwood

1950-2012

Elaine Wade Underwood, most recently of Hanna, departed this world on March 13th, 2012 in Tahlequah. She had just turned 62.

She was born Elaine Mix in Oklahoma City on March 5th, 1950 to Roy and Lola Mix of Muskogee. She grew up in southern Muskogee, attending McClain and Elm Grove Elementary Schools, spending long summer days riding her bicycle and performing in roller-skating shows at Stardust Skate Arena. She progressed to Alice Robertson Junior High School and Central High School, graduating with the class of 1967, then continued on to Bacone College.

During school, she married longtime boyfriend Wendell Underwood. Although they later divorced, they stayed in touch through the years, and their union provided them with one son, Bret, and eventually grandchildren. After college, Elaine worked at a few starter jobs before finding a home at Brockway Glass Company, from which she eventually retired after 20-plus years of service. She lived in Muskogee almost all of her life until her move to Hanna approximately three years ago.

Elaine often enjoyed activities that might seem outside her age group—playing video games and having hours-long teenager-like phone conversations, for example. As a proud Democrat, she often sparked political discussions on topics of the day. She enjoyed nature and outdoor settings, as evidenced by her many trips to area parks and marinas, where she was fond of boating and fishing. She was a prolific writer and poet; seeing her work published in a volume of the Anthology of American Poets was a highlight of her life, as well as a source of pride for her family. But above all this, Elaine particularly loved the company of her good friends. She had so many of them that she never had to look far to find her next adventure (or at least a good story).

She was preceded in death by her father, Roy; her grandmother, Ada Brock; two aunts, Leola Johnson and Juanita Moore; and a daughter-in-law, Hayley Mix, as well as her beloved pets Cocoa the dog and Thomas the cat. She is survived by her mother, Lola; a son, Bret Mix; a daughter-in-law, Amy Mix; and two grandchildren, Autumn Mix and Andy Horton, all of Glenpool; an aunt, Oleta Humphrey; and an uncle, Guinn Dale Brock, both of Muskogee; and a multitude of dear friends—to list them all would likely require a full page of this newspaper.

A memorial service will be held for Elaine on Friday, March 23rd at 6:00 pm, at Sequoyah Bay near Wagoner, in the covered picnic area in the northern zone of the park, to be immediately followed by a celebration of her life. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the American Heart Association.

Arrangements  were under the direction of Shipman’s Muskogee Cremation Funeral Service.