Patricia "Patti" Jean Sparkman

Patti, our beloved wife, mom, grandma, great-grandma, sister, aunt, and friend was born Nov. 19th, 1949 to Benjamin Franklin Creason and Opal Pauline Wilson in Oklahoma City, OK.

When she was almost 2 yrs old, she traveled with her pregnant mom and sister, Sandi, to join her dad stationed in France. Her mother was expecting her brother, David, on their journey of 13 days on a troop ship.

She attended school in Midwest City, where in ‘64 she was crowned Jarman Junior High Band Queen, being an exceptional clarinet player and majorette. She graduated from Midwest City High School in 1968.

After working at various companies, Patti started her government career at the US Post Office in 1977. She moved to the Defense Contract Administration Service in downtown OKC, then on to Tinker AFB in the base contracting office. She progressed through the ranks to become a senior Contracting Officer. Her stellar career progressed further on as a supervisory contracting officer at FAA, where she retired after 30 years in Federal service in 2007. She did all of this without a college degree, which was proudly recognized by all. While working at DCAS, Patti took on the part-time job of typing, publishing and mailing out the monthly newsletter for the Tri-City Gun Club. She started that with an electric typewriter, Kinko’s, folding, stuffing envelopes, stick on address labels and stamps. When she gave it up it was Word documents and email.

A devoted and determined mother with an ornery charm and sometimes blunt humor, she gave everything of herself for her family. Patti raised 4 children in McLoud, OK. Through work friends, she then met the love of her life and partner til the end, Dean Sparkman. In 1991, they were married at Ocean Isle Beach, NC on the beach - where her son, Billy, gave her away. Dean brought 4 daughters into this union and made, they joked, “8 is Enough.” - although, she soon was blessed in raising 2 grandchildren through their school years as well.

Patti enjoyed cooking, reading, dancing, skiing, singing silly songs, and traveling with her husband in their RV. Family vacations were important to her. Later in life, she and her sister discovered they had a half sister, Judy, and traveled to Portland on a whim to meet her.

She was the embodiment of love,strength, and resilience and she had an unwavering faith in God and her children’s potential. She loved and was loved by so many - always giving so much at holidays and remembering every birthday of such a large family.

During her generous and courageous life, she survived breast cancer and bravely fought COPD for several years until the end. Patti is preceded in death by her mother and father and her younger brother, David Franklin Creason. She leaves behind those who will cherish her memory: husband, C. Dean Sparkman; sisters, Sandi Pauline Rosamond and husband Freedus, and Judy Peterson; children, Michael Scott Rogers and wife Kelly, William Jay Rogers and wife Tiffany Tuggle-Rogers, John Kirby Johnson, and Sherrie Jean Johnson; step-daughters, Deana Butcher and husband Samuel, Alicia Sparkman and partner Cary Saylor, Cheryl Kitchens and husband TJ, and Christina Sparkman and husband Tim Ventura. Between them, there are 13 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren.

A visitation for Patti will be held Wednesday, September 6, 2023 from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM at Bill Eisenhour Funeral Home, 5005 SE 29th Street, Del City, OK 73115. A funeral service will occur Thursday, September 7, 2023 at 2:00 PM at Sunny Lane United Methodist Church, 2020 S. Sunnylane Rd., Del City, OK 73115.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, The American Lung Association and Sunny Lane United Methodist Church.