Joyce (Sowder) McLain

Joyce Sowder McLain was born on September 30, 1924 in Sapulpa, OK to Henry D. Sowder and Fannie (Dunham) Sowder. Her father was a fireman on the Frisco Railway and her mother a licensed practical nurse. She passed away in Hinton, OK on March 1, 2019 at the age of 94. She attended Daniel Webster High School at Tulsa, OK where she met Hans H. McLain. They married January 20, 1942 and celebrated 53 years together until he died in 1996. Hans was partners with Charley Freeman in MWC at a Drug Store. Hans started working for Sears Roebuck and the family moved to Wichita Falls, TX. Having moved to El Paso, TX, Joyce graduated as a practical nurse in 1965 and worked as an operating room nurse there at Thompson General Hospital for over twenty years. She and her husband retired to be with family in Hinton, OK.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Henry and Fannie Sowder, her husband Hans McLain, eight of her nine siblings: Phyliss, Gene, Harry, Elizabeth, Norma, Phoebe, Oliver, and Jack; grandson-in-law, Ronnie Allen; daughter in law, Nina McLain, and granddaughter DeLana (McLain) Martinez.

Survivors Include: son, William H. McLain of Willard, Utah, daughters: Joyce Marie Dillard of Hinton, OK, and Sharron K. Besteman of Mokena, IL; 7 grandchildren: Sharri Bailey of Hinton, OK, Kimberlee Cahill and husband Mark of Pensacola, FL, Pamela Besteman and husband Brian of Redwood City, CA, Neil Besteman and wife Becky of Zeeland, MI, Julia Seliga and husband Mark of Mokena, IL, Christy Breithaupt and husband Frank of Shreveport, LA, and Wayne Smith and wife Cindy of Ivanhoe, TX, numerous great grandchildren, and great great grandchildren, her brother, Calvin Sowder of CA, as well as many other relatives and friends.

Memorial Donations may be made to: The Smile Train, 633 Third Ave, 9th Floor, NY, NY 10017, or Hinton First United Methodist Church, 222 W Market St, Hinton, OK 73047, or Russell-Murray Hospice, 1625 Cypress Drive, Weatherford, OK 73096

Services: First United Methodist Church, Wednesday, 10:00 AM, March 6, 2019, Hinton, OK

Officiating: Rev. Gary Haynes

Burial:  Geary Cemetery, Geary, OK services entrusted to Turner Funeral Home, Hinton, Oklahoma. Condolences may be sent to the family at turnerfuneralhomes@gmail.com, turnerfh.net, or you can find us on facebook.com (Turner Funeral Homes).

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Joyce (Sowder) McLain, please visit our floral store.