Thelma Jeanne Branch

Thelma Jeanne ("Tobie") Branch was born on October 8, 1927 up in Pawnee, attending Pawnee public schools for most of her school years until moving to Guthrie with her family in where she completed her high school education in Guthrie in 1944. Soon after graduation she began working at Tinker Air Force base as a clerk typist during World War II. At the end of the war, in 1946 she moved back to Pawnee and gained employment as a nurse with the Pawnee Hospital where she worked for 3 years. It was during this time that she met Clifford Branch, and they eventually married on August 28, 1947 at the First Baptist Church in Pawnee. As a married couple, they lived their early years in Cleveland where Clifford ran the local cotton gin. But ranching was their destiny and they eventually acquired enough land west of Cleveland to start a cattle operation. The ranch, known as Redbud Ranch, rose to national prominence in the registered Hereford industry, a success achieved through Clifford and Tobie's combined efforts. Tobie was an active member of the Democratic Party in Oklahoma and served as the first president of the Oklahoma Federation of Democratic Women. She also served as a district officer for the Party and was a delegate to the national Democratic convention in 1976. In addition to her political involvement, Tobie was also very active with the Order of the Eastern Star, having served as a grand officer with that organization in 1983. After Clifford's death in 1991, Tobie continued to live on the ranch, remaining active with her local Eastern Star chapter and serving as a member and Chairman of the Pawnee County Election Board. In recent years, she spent the majority of her time doing the things she loved which included gardening, cooking, working crossword puzzles, feeding her birds, and most of all, spending time with her grandchildren. She was immensely proud of all of them and took a keen interest in their various activities. Together, Clifford and Tobie raised six children: Jim, Debbie, Karin, Beverly, Doug and Curt. They also have twelve grandchildren: Preston, Jhosh, Shelby, Cody, Hannah, Sam, Caleb, Bekkah, Abby, J.D., Faith and Ben. There are three great grandchildren: Jhaci, Brylee and Hadley. Tobie passed away peacefully on Tuesday, May 27th. She was 86 years old. She was preceded in death by her husband, Clifford and her oldest son, Jim.