Obituary of Claudeen Humes Young

CLAUDEEN HUMES YOUNG

Claudeen Humes Young rejoined her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and her beloved husband John W. Young on Sunday evening May 28, 2017 at St. John’s Hospital with her sons at her side.

          She was born on July 13, 1925 in Drumright, Oklahoma as the only child of Otis Lee Humes and Burris “Maye” (named by her grandchildren) Davis Humes.  Their family moved to Sapulpa in 1929 to purchase the Cowman Pharmacy and later open the Humes Drug Store at the corner of Dewey and Park Streets which they operated until 1972. when Otis and Maye retired.  She had many lifelong friends from her neighborhood as well as one local boy down the street named John W. Young who got the attention of Claudeen and her friends by putting snakes and frogs down the backs of their pretty dresses.

          That annoying boy later became the president of their graduating class at Sapulpa High School in 1942 who by that time was busy trying to live down his reputation as a nuisance to the girls.  He joined the Navy during World War II while Claudeen went to Lindenwood College in Missouri.  She later transferred to Oklahoma Baptist University where, according to John, she was working on a “PW” (preacher’s wife) degree.  John invited her to transfer to the University of Oklahoma to work on an “LW” (lawyer’s wife) degree where he was attending law school and, according to him, she “took the bait” and transferred the next semester.

          They were married on September 6, 1949 and three sons, John Mark, David Lee, and Bradford Humes Young, soon came along.  They were members of First Baptist Church where she was tapped to be the first principal of Little Friends Kindergarten when it originally opened in 1956.  It’s since graduated hundreds of Sapulpa school children, including her own grandchildren, as Little Friends Preschool. In fact, most of the gray haired old timers around town are her graduates!

          In 1963 her husband John got elected to the Oklahoma State Senate where he served for 22 years.  Throughout his legislative career she was by his side supporting him.  She founded the Legislative Wives Club which is still in operation today.

           In 1986 John successfully fought off a bout of cancer but the experience changed their lives and they began attending church at First Assembly of God as well as just about every other church around too. They shared their faith in Jesus to anyone who would listen in many of Oklahoma’s prisons and jails with Claudeen singing beautiful songs, many of which she had written herself. They even accompanied T.L. and Daisy Osborne on a missionary trip to Kenya and Nora Lamb on a trip to China sharing their faith.  Sharing their Lord became the capstone of their lives until his death in 2009.

          Claudeen later went on to earn a Master’s Degree in Education at Tulsa University in 1989, but that “LW degree” served her well for the 59 years of their marriage during which they had three children who brought them 12 grandchildren and now 20½ great grandchildren, all of whom have been the joy of their lives.  She, as a member of the SHS Class of 1942, recently attended the graduation party of their great granddaughter in the SHS Class of 2017.

          We’ll all deeply miss her but every day remember and appreciate the rich Christian heritage that she and John passed on to our family.

        Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Green Hill Funeral Home.  There will be a wake for family and friends at Green Hill Funeral Home from 6:00 to 8:00 on Wednesday and funeral services will be at the First Baptist Church on Thursday at 10:00 am.  Donations are requested to Praise Fellowship Ministry to help support the purchase of Bibles for the jail and prison ministries.  The family has entrusted the services to the directors at Green Hill Funeral Home.  9182242312 / www.greenhillok.com