Donna Mae McCumber was born March 13th, 1929 and died after a long illness on July 15th 2024 in Oklahoma City at the age of 95. It is hard to imagine summing a life so rich with love as was Donna Mae’s. She married her high school sweetheart and love of her life, Eldon in 1948. She was fond of saying that he was ‘just an ole city kid’ while she was from the country. That city was Hinton, Oklahoma where Donna Mae and Eldon lived and served for over six decades. One can’t resist relating a favorite story from their youth. When Eldon and Donna Mae were in high school, they once gathered a jarful of lightning bugs, went to the movies, and released them into the dark theater creating an indoor blanket of flickering stars; a harmless prank for a couple of kids setting off on a lifelong love story, but also a fitting opening scene for a couple who would carry their own romance, their own intimate night sky, their own sense of companionship and fun within their marriage for 74 years. Donna Mae and Eldon had two sons, Rick in 1951 and Steven in 1955. She was incredibly proud of her boys and deeply thankful for all the opportunities they gave her to be mother and grandmother and great-grandmother over and again. This lifetime of mothering was not only something that she excelled at but was also a deep and sustaining joy for her. She was always delighted when all her kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids were together, especially if she could get a Cousin Line Up picture where each of her 7 grandchildren posed from oldest to youngest. Donna Mae and Eldon lived in Oklahoma City for several years, but toward the end of the 50’s, Eldon decided he’d like to be in business for himself, so they packed up their family and moved back to Hinton where he and Donna Mae ran the successful Hinton Auto Parts Store side by side until retirement. Eldon, a man with no shortage of accomplishments, once said that he couldn’t have done any of it without her. A favorite aspect of Donna Mae’s personality was displayed in her wardrobe. She loved strong, bright colors and things that sparkled which perfectly matched the way she walked through life. She was never an overbearing person, but she had a strong, clear will and a wonderful, patient individuality. Donna Mae was a picture of grace and, alongside Eldon, served and loved her community as deeply and generously as anyone could. They attended and served faithfully at the First Christian Church for over 50 years. The number of folks in Hinton and beyond who have been personally helped or changed or touched by Donna Mae and Eldon is incalculable. Donna Mae lived a life of persistent virtue and steadfast love inspired by a deep and lifelong faith in an all-loving God. 

Donna Mae is preceded in death by her husband Eldon McCumber, her parents Lyle and Vernal Stevens, her brother and his wife Vernon and Hazel Stevens, and her brothers in law and their wives, Jim and Jerry McCumber and Don and Bert McCumber.

She is survived by her two sons and their wives, Rick and Kayte McCumber and Steven and Nancy McCumber, several nieces, 7 grandchildren, 8 great-grandchildren, with 1 more great-grandchild on the way. It is a great comfort to her family that she was able to see and spend time with all these relatives in the days before her death.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Hinton Senior Citizens Club or the Hinton First Christian Church.

Services will be held at 10 A.M. at the First Christian Church in Hinton on Friday, July 26th.

Officiating: Rev. Doyle Kinney

Burial:  Hinton Cemetery, Hinton, OK

Services under the direction of Turner Funeral Home, Hinton, Oklahoma. Condolences may be sent to the family at turnerfuneralhomes@gmail.com, or you can find us on facebook.com (Turner Funeral Homes).