Ester Flossie Prater Evans Obituary (1925 - 2013)

Ester Flossie Prater Evans went home to be with our Lord on March 19, 2013. She was born on February 15, 1925 in Horatio, Arkansas to Alvie & Leona Prater. She was the first born of their ten children. She married Earnest Evans on October 26, 1940. She and her husband were both Pentecostal Christians. They became proud parents of seven children. She lived in Broken Bow, Oklahoma in McCurtain County most of her life. She was always a totally devoted wife and mother. She dearly loved all children. Besides being a wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother and homemaker?she was always praised as an excellent cook and really enjoyed putting a meal on the table. She spent many years cooking in various restaurants in Oklahoma and California. Along the way, she also owned several cafes in Oklahoma and California as well. She took a great deal of pride and satisfaction in her ability to tickle the taste buds on someone?s tongue. That always made her smile. She was a great story teller and taught us so much about family members who lived generations before most of us were born. She was always the bridge between yesterday and today. The stories that she could tell seemed endless. Everything from ghost sightings, to courtships, to tending the chores, to plowing the farm, to moving across the country, to good times and hard times, to jokes that were told to her by her mom and dad and so many other tales of her childhood about her mom, dad, siblings, and many relatives that would have otherwise been lost. We are forever thankful that she took the time to share those memories with all of us. Her sense of humor was in high gear as she recalled most of the stories and often times she could not continue until her laughter settled down just a little. When she spoke of her life, she expressed, "It was such a great one". Early in her childhood, (since she was the oldest of ten children), she began her role as a caregiver for her younger brothers and sisters. She embraced that responsibility as an older sister and then continued it as a mother of seven children, as a grandmother, as a great grandmother, as an aunt, and as a great aunt. Many of her nephews and nieces loved her dearly and treated her as if she was their mother. She was always willing to help. Her shoulder to lean on, and her advice and opinion were sought by many folks time and time again. She fulfilled her role very well, and always felt blessed to have made someone?s day a little bit better. She truly was all about family?that always was the center of her life and she was very content with her role. She would not have wanted it any other way. She shared and also instilled in us her great hope and her great faith in God. We will be forever thankful for that and all her love that she so freely gave. She leaves her legacy for caring and kindness in our hearts and in our minds. Her passing leaves us with a great void that will forever remain. We are both fortunate and thankful for the opportunity to have been blessed with sharing her life, her dreams, her thoughts, her stories, her faith, and her great enduring love. She was Mom, Mother, Mama, Aunt Ester, Grandma, and Sis. She was dearly loved by a multitude of people. She cherished that love and kept us all in a special part of her heart. We will miss her greatly, but we will always have her with us as we hold her life, her memories, and her love in her special place within our own hearts. Thank you Mother?we love you. Her passing was preceded by the passing of: Earnest Evans in 2002 (her husband of 62 years), Alvie Prater (father), Leona Prater (mother), Bernice Murray (sister), Kenneth Prater (brother), Virginia Obrien (sister), Joyce Hardy (sister), and Andy Prater (brother). She is survived by: all her children (three sons and four daughters), and their spouses. Jerry & Carolyn Evans, Rosie & Marvin Thomas, Flossie Fast, Alvie & Josette Evans, Emma & John Hancock, Jess Evans, and Violet & Larry McDonald; thirty grandchildren and many great grandchildren. Four siblings (and their spouses) (two bothers, two sisters, and one sister-in-law) Melvin Prater, Patsy Vancil, Lila & Johnny Highful, Terry & Sarah Prater, Bessie Prater (widow of Kenneth Prater). She will be laid to rest alongside her husband in Crown Hill Cemetery in Broken Bow, Oklahoma.Cemetery:Crown Hill Cemetery, Broken Bow, OK To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Ester Flossie Prater Evans, please visit our floral store.