Mary Jocelyn Boatman

Mary Jocelyn Good Thurman Boatman December 29, 1925-December 23, 2022 Mary Jo was born on December 29, 1925 in Duncan, Oklahoma to Carl C. and Mary Antoinette Good. She spent her youth in Duncan and Medicine Park before moving with her family to Okmulgee at the age of 16. She was on a date a few years after she graduated from high school and when Ray Thurman walked in, her date turned to her and said “you’ll never go out with me again after meeting Ray.” Sure enough she and Ray were married on May 30, 1947, moved to Morris and they enjoyed the arrival of their daughter Barbara Sue Thurman Morton. At the age of 25, when Barbara was 3 years old, Mary Jo was widowed after Ray and his best friend from the Navy decided to go flying on the afternoon of April 29, 1951 which ended in both their tragic deaths. Mary Jo and Barbara moved to Okmulgee where she began working at the First National Bank and they lived with her parents for several years. One day Ed Boatman called her house and she describes holding a paint brush in her hand with paint dripping down her arm as she answered the phone. He asked her out to dinner which she politely declined, something Ed Boatman wasn’t used to! But when he told her that he was also inviting Tom and Georgina Carney (mutual friends of both of theirs) to go to the Southern Mansion she changed her mind saying, “I don’t want them to miss out on a steak dinner and a night out especially since they have 6 children at home and one on the way.” A few months later Ed and Mary Jo were married at the Carney home on December 14, 1958. From this 44 year marriage they were blessed with a son and a daughter Jack and Joy Boatman. Mary Jo was preceded in death by her parents, her husbands and her siblings Carl Edward Good and Jerry Dean Good. She is survived by her three children Barbara Morton (Bob), Jack Boatman and Joy Boatman, four grandchildren Doug Morton, Courtney Boatman (Freddy) , Katelyn Boatman and Shannon Matsch, three bonus granddaughters Jennifer Mauldin (Justin), Lauren Matsch, Olivia Dohme (Josh) and three bonus great grandsons Jaxon, Jacob and Jeremy Mauldin all of San Diego. She is also survived by one niece Alice Good Holleman of Okmulgee and numerous other nieces and nephews located in California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Mississippi, Paris France and Texas, plus her sister in law Phyllis Thurman Vaughn (Keith) of Stillwater, Oklahoma and her daughter in law Debra Helliker. Being a member of the Democrat Dolls was one of the highlights of her life. She and 11 other Okmulgee women were involved in Oklahoma’s Democratic Whistlestop Campaign Victory Train during the 1964 campaigns. She performed at dinners with Ted Kennedy, Carl Albert, Lyndon Baines Johnson and other dignitaries in attendance. The dolls caught the eye of LBJ and were subsequently invited to his Inauguration ceremonies in January 1965 where they performed at an after party. They were honored by the Oklahoma legislation with a resolution that commended them for their serenades during the 1965 inauguration and the whistle stop campaigns of 1964 by “bringing great praise and credit to themselves and to the State of Oklahoma.” In 1968 they were invited to perform at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois as special guests of the Oklahoma delegation. Due to the riots led by protestors of the Vietnam War and the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy (who signed Mary Jo’s hat) they were unable to perform or even leave their hotel for four days. At some point they were led out of the hotel by a Senator who loaded them onto buses that formed a caravan escorted by the police directly to the airport. Mary Jo was the only Democrat Doll who was able to attend the installation of Carl Albert as Speaker of the House in Washington DC on January 20, 1971. After his installation he immediately left the podium and stretched out his arms as he walked toward Mary Jo for a hug. For their final performance the group was invited to the 1972 Democratic National Convention in Miami Florida. Mary Jo was loved by many, a mother-like figure to all of her children’s friends, a woman of deep faith, and a friend to all. She believed in doing something kind for someone every day. Special thank you’s to her best friend of 80+ years Mrs. Doe Dooley, Diana Burton her next door neighbor of 17 years who shared many cups of coffee on the car-patio and loved “MaLady” fiercely, Kim Preigel, another neighbor, who checked in on her daily for years with her secret code of positioning the shutters in the den just right and Kim Angle, who adored her for over 33 years after losing her own mother Patty Powell Randall. Services are pending and will be held at a later date at The First Christian Church , where Mary Jo was a deacon and an elder for over 50 years. They have been entrusted to McClendon-Winters Funeral Home of Okmulgee. Memories, and condolences, photos and videos may be shared with the family on Mary Jo’s page at www.mcclendon-winters.com

Mary Jocelyn Boatman

December 29, 1925 - December 23, 2022