Life History

Notes

• 1940 Federal Census, Stephens County, Oklahoma, 2 April, Richland Township, District 69-25, page 1A, Hse #8 Rented, Value $4, Farm
  Welch, Thomas J Head M W 25  Grade 8 b Texas lived in Same Place in 1935 Laborer
  Welch, Josephine M Wife F W 23  Grade H8 [sic] b OK lived in Same Place in 1935 Housewife
  Welch, Dorthey J Dau F W 5 Single 0 b OK lived in Same Place in 1935
  Welch, Mary J Dau F W 2 Single Grade 0 b OK lived in Same Place in 1935
  
  Josephine's cousin Lou Ila Jenkins found among her papers in 2018 a newspaper story about Dorothy's disappearance from August to November 1964.
  
  "A Secretary is missing.  Mrs Dorothy Jene Willis, 30, Church secretary at Calvary Church, Lawton, Okla., has been missing since Aug. 14.  Her physical description is:  height, five feet, one inch; weight 98 ponds; brown hair; brown eyes' wears glasses; partal amputation of middle finger on right hand; and burn scars on left forearm,  Anyone with information of her whereabouts is requested to contact her mother, Mrs. Josephine Welch at Alpine 5-4871, Duncan (Oklahoma), or the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigatoin, 4363 NW 10th, Oklahoma City."
  --  Baptist Standard, 4 November 1964;  hand transcription courtesy of Lou Ila Gregory Jenkins, Josephine's cousin;  from Lou's files, digitized 27 August 2018 by Orville Boyd Jenkins
  
  No followup information on this story was found.  But it is known she did live until 1987.
  
  Josephine's obituary reports she was born in the Oaklawn Community.  This was near Marlow, and is known for the community school, one of the schools the obituary reports that Josephone attended.
  
  Oak Lawn School, Established 1908
  School District 273, near Marlow in Stephens County, OK
  Directions from Marlow, OK -- Junction US 81 and OK 29 go south for .7 miles to Caddo St. (stoplight) turn right (West) go 3.4 miles, turn left (South) 1 mile to Third and Blackburn.  School is on right side of road.
  --  "Oak Lawn School," Exploring Oklahoma History, http://www.blogoklahoma.us/place.aspx?id=711
  
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  Josephine Mary (Dobkins) Welch Tugmon
  Birth Apr 14, 1916 Oklahoma
  Death Sep 9, 2005 Midwest City, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma
  
  Josephine was born in the Oaklawn Community to Dave Edgar and Cora Cole (Fisher) Dobkins. Josephine attended Oaklawn and Marlow schools She lived in the Marlow area most of her life. She married Thomas Jefferson Welch on Dec. 9, 1933, in Marlow. He preceded her in death on Feb. 10, 1956. Josephine later married Leroy “Roy” Tugmon on June 1, 1968, in Duncan. He also preceded her in death on July 26, 1979. She worked for the dime store in Duncan for six years and Surplus City in Duncan for six years. She also worked for the Department of Human Services, taking care of babies. She was a member of the 4-H Club and the Western Heights Baptist Church in Duncan.
  
  Survivors include a daughter, Mary Jo Forga of Oden, Ark.; six grandchildren, Gary Collier, Kenneth Campbell, Dorene Sue Bloomer Gray, Tommie Fisher, Rena Beach and Deborah Farmer; 13 great-grandchildren; a brother, Dave Dobkins and wife Janette of Oklahoma City; and two sisters, Irene Kelly of Duncan and Eva Lee King and husband Hubert of El Paso, Texas.
  
  She was preceded in death by her parents; two spouses; a daughter, Dorothy Jean Welch Riddle; a grandson, Keith Collier; and six siblings.
  
  Pallbearers were James Gibbs, Phillip Gibbs, Bob Gibbs, Glen Klein and Dave Dobkins.
  
  Services were held Sept. 12, at the Callaway-Smith-Cobb Chapel in Marlow, with Mike Roberson officiating. Burial was under the direction of Callaway-Smith-Cobb Funeral Home in Marlow.
  
  Spouses:
  Thomas Joseph Welch (1914 - 1956)
  J T L Roy Tugmon (1904 - 1980)
  Daughter Mary Jo Welch Forga (1937 - 2006)
  
  Burial Marlow Cemetery, Marlow, Stephens County, Oklahoma
  Created by Debbie Jan 19, 2006
  --  Find A Grave Memorial #13066411, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/13066411
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Sources

• 1. Find a Grave Memorial Registry
• 2. Exploring Oklahoma History, Blog Oklahoma
• 3. 1940 Federal Census, Stephens County, Oklahoma
  • 2 April, Richland Township, District 69-25, page 1A, Hse #8 Rented, Value $4, Farm
• 4. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
• 5. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014
• 6. United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014
• 7. Marlow Cemetery List, Marlow, Stephens, Oklahoma
  • Location: http://stephenscogen.org/~okstephe/MarlowCem2.txt;
• 8. Ancestry Trees