Reber Corrine Standefor

Reber was born the 5th child of 10 children in 1912, the year the Titanic sank, in Endville, OK. In 1919 at the age of 7, the family left Endville by train bound for Boley, OK. She rode the train with her family, changing coaches in Guthrie, OK. Arriving in Boley earlier than her Dad who was transporting cattle by train in a very cold weather, the family had to stay with another related family, the Bowlers. In Boley, she attended elementary and high school, graduating from high school in 1929. She became a member of St. Emanuel Baptist Church at the age of 17, and used her talents as Sunday School Secretary for 3 years. This was the time when Pretty Boy Floyd, the notorious bank robber, was killed by blacks who owned and operated the Boley Bank. It was also the beginning of the Great Depression. The family lived and worked on a farm to make a living, and sometimes they were farmed out to other families to help gather their crops. She attended Langston University for 3-1/2 years, working as an aide to the President to pay for tuition. She had to iron 5 long-sleeve white shirts in an hour, and for Sunday dinners often ate peanut butter and syrup for dinner. Later, she went to Nashville, AR, and with help of an Aunt, taught junior high school for 5 years. She also taught elementary school in Sapulpa, OK where her parents lived. It was there that she decided that teaching was not for her. In 1943, she decided to visit one of her sisters in Chicago. She found a job working for the Federal Government. She worked for 5 years with the Treasury Dept. and 25 years with the Post Office, retiring after 30 years. Living in Chicago presented a lot of challenges for Reber as a single woman. She had to get up every morning at 4:00 am to shovel snow from her driveway to get to work. During the cold winters before gas was available, she had to provide coal for fuel, not only for her flat, but for the tenants who rented from her. She accepted personal responsibility in all her endeavors and never made excuses for achieving anything that she desired or had to do. She reached her life goals, working hard and always finishing what she started. She lived alone with class and dignity as a single woman all her life. She never complained of living alone, but always kept herself busy sewing her own clothes, making slip covers for her furniture, beautiful drapes for her home, and preparing herself for Sunday School and Prayer Meetings. Reber loved to travel, making an around the world trip while residing in Chicago. In 1998, she sailed through the Panama Canal with relatives, and later traveled to Europe and Mexico. Around 1964, she retired to Phoenix, AZ where she joined the South Phoenix Missionary Baptist Church. She served as Sunday School Secretary for many years and received many plaques and awards from the church, recognizing her for service and excellence. Reber’s legacy unbeknownst to her in her 103.6 years of life was being a role model. She cared about her nieces and nephews, often lecturing to them about the importance of getting an education. Some emulated her success, but she probably never realized she had anything to do with their accomplishments. Whatever obstacles she had, if any, she conquered them alone with God’s Grace. She lived a simple life which may have contributed to her long life. She loved all the members of her family, and they sometimes looked to her for guidance. She was so organized in her personal life that she documented some of this information on a writing pad a few years ago, making sure we get the Obituary information right. Her view of growing old was always funny, because she made us laugh. Her favorite advice to everyone was, “Don’t get old”. She wore the warning with dignity, because we never saw her as being old. She was just Aunt Reber who looked much younger than her age. She is survived by her only sister, Maxine Kyle of Richmond, CA. She leaves a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.