Just Folks

Lesley Deem

Lesley Deem of Marble City jokingly tells her children “I’m not interesting but I’ll get there,” she says.

Actually, Deem, whose native home is Salt Lake City, Utah, does live an interesting life along with her husband, James, and six children.

“I’m a full-time stay-at-home mom. My children come first always and I’m usually busy taking them to school, cheerleading practice or other activities they’re involved in. I love it and I’m thankful I have a husband who supports me that way. He’s actually the interesting one,” she said, laughing.

Deem said the family moved to Marble City because her sons loved the house and said it was where they wanted to live.

“We’ve lived here eight years. When we began to look for another place to move to we were living in Oklahoma City. We all decided as a family we wanted to be in the country. We looked at several homes, even one in Gore, but when my boys saw this house in Marble City, they said that’s the house they wanted to live in. It’s a four bedroom, brick home and we were able to convert the garage into an extra bedroom because they always have friends over,” she said.

Deem said her husband serves as president of the Marble City Fire Department and is a member of the Marble City Town Board and the two remain active in their community.

“My husband is the one the elders here or someone who needs something done calls on for help. He may leave at night to help a person who has fallen out of bed or someone’s water heater may have gone out. He loves the people here in Marble City. His first thought when we moved here was to get more Native American young men involved in the fire department. He made some progress because there’s a few who volunteer for the fire department,” she said.

“It’s funny because I’m a little bit more reserved. My husband is the one who is super social. I feel like my job is mainly keeping my children in line and tending to their needs. They range in ages eight to 25.”

Deem said the couple just had one graduate from UAFS.

“We want to make sure the others also go to college and finish. My husband and I met in college when we were both attending OSU. We got married and started raising a family right away so we didn’t get to complete college. It’s why it’s so important to both of us for our children to complete their college education,” she said.

Although Deem keeps a busy schedule of raising a family and volunteering her time to her community, she does enjoy riding horses, kayaking, and knitting and crocheting when she gets time, she said.

Deem said living in Sequoyah County is a decision she’s glad her family made.

“We love living here. The people are so friendly and I feel like they’re our family. When we decided to move here, our families thought we were crazy because we didn’t know anyone here. It was a big move for us.

“We still make trips to Oklahoma City to visit my mom but when we hit the Sequoyah County line on the interstate, my kids will holler “Yaay! we’re home!” Just Folks. Just Folks is Your TIMES way of honoring the regular people of Sequoyah County, recognizing their unique talents, personalities, jobs, abilities, etc. Your TIMES appreciates the cooperation of each Just Folks and the public’s nominations for this feature. If you know of someone you think might be a good story, contact Amie or Lynn at 918-775-4433.