Funeral services for Versa Lee Johnston, 89, of Sallisaw were held at 10 a.m. Monday at the Immanuel Baptist Church in Sallisaw with the Revs. Jason Helmbacher and Ed Cunningham officiating.
Burial was in Akins Cemetery northeast of Sallisaw, under the direction of Agent Funeral Home of Sallisaw.
She was born Dec. 1914, in Akins community, to Joe Cyphus "Big Dutch" Whitworth and Sarah Catherine "Sally" (Strickland) Whitworth. She died on Thursday, March 11, 2004, in Sallisaw.
Mrs. Johnston was a homemaker and former cook at the Fig Tree Restaurant in Sallisaw and a home child caretaker and attended the Immanuel Baptist Church.
Survivors include five daughters, Shirley and Joe Gewin and Mattie and Bill Hargett, all of Oklahoma City, Sally Odom of Baytown, Texas, Christine and Carl Ortiz of Clovis, N.M. and Michelle and Raymond Hardbarger of Sallisaw; three sons, James "Tuffy" Baldridge of Smithtown, N.Y., Curtis Lee Baldridge and Robert T. "Bobby" Baldridge, both of Sallisaw; 29 grandchildren; 35 great-grandchildren; nine great-great-grandchildren; three sister, Agnes Sasser of Sand Springs, Bernice Owen of Sallisaw and Norma Jo Hill of Fort Smith, Ark.; two foster-brothers, Kenneth Whitworth of Muskogee and George Whitworth of Colorado.
She was preceded in death by two husbands, Millard Curtis Baldridge and Thomas Walter "John" Johnston; her parents; her grandparents, William D. and Mary K. Strickland; three sisters, Fannie Mae Whitworth, Zula Farris and Clara Horn; two brothers, Robert M. "Little Dutch" Whitworth and James Aaron Whitworth; one daughter, Judy Ann Wilbourne; one son, Robert M. Baldridge; one grandson, Johnny Ray Gewin; one great-grandson, Kent Allen Coogan.
Pallbearers were Bob Jamison, Sam McCawley, Josh Odom, David Dunn, Darrell "Shorty" Johnson, Ronnie Odom, Jimmy Sanders and Raymond Hardbarger.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Professional Home Hospice, attn: Memorial, 507 E. Redwood, Sallisaw, OK 74955 or Immanuel Baptist Church, 1101 N. Wheeler, Sallisaw OK 74955.
