Mildred Gale (Eller) Paris

Longtime Muskogee resident, Mildred Gale (Eller) Paris, died August 30 at Eastgate Village Healthcare Center following a long illness. She was three months past her 100th birthday. Funeral services will be at 9 a.m. Thursday, September 5, at Cornerstone Funeral Home and Crematory with Pat Milligan, pastor of the Muskogee Seventh-day Adventist Church, officiating. Burial will be in the U.S National Cemetery at Fort Gibson with Gary Jones, Mike Hitt, Jacob Hitt, Lance Jones and Kyle Marler serving as pallbearers. Honorary pallbearer will be Andrew Hitt. She was born May 13, 1924 to James A. and Corrine Eller, a farm couple whose interests included cotton and dairy farming and the operation of two “mom and pop” grocery stores and a larger market in Muskogee. During her teen years, Ms. Paris and her sister, Foyce, operated the first of the three stores and assisted their mother in preparing meals for field hands hired to work the family’s cotton crops. They often fed up to 125 workers each day. She married Clarence M. Paris September 5, 1942, just prior to his induction into the U.S. Army Air Force. His first duty assignment was an air base in Dalhart, Texas, where the couple resided until he was sent to the Marshall Islands in the western Pacific. Their first child, Sherrilyn, was born during his tour of duty at Dalhart. She was a member of the Muskogee Seventh-day Adventist Church. Mrs. Paris was recruited to teach the last two years of the war at Prairie View School located east of Davis Field near Muskogee. She is survived by a son, Steve (Theresa) Paris of Guthrie; three granddaughters, Kathy (Gary) Jones and Shelly (Mike) Hitt, both of Muskogee, Jenifer Paris of Broken Arrow; great-granddaughters, Krissy (Shawn) Adams, Kasey (Teddie Cody) Applegate and Hayley Hitt; two great-grandsons, Andrew and Jacob Hitt; great-great-grandchildren, Lance Jones and Kyle and Mya, all of Muskogee, Bethany of Tulsa and Nick Marler of Haskell; Teddie Eion and Wyit Applegate of Muskogee; great-great-great-grandson, Ridley Marler of Haskell; sister, Saundra Parker of Muskogee; and sisters-in-law, Cookie Eller and Sandra Eller. Mrs. Paris was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Clarence; daughter, Sherry; brothers, Junior (Joyce), Ralph (Bennie), Royce (Maygene), Jim, and Ronnie; her late sisters, Foyce (Bob) Johnston, Darlene (Leonard) Howdeshell, Jane (Wayne) Mullins and Desi (Jack) Hobbs; and brother-in-law, Ken Parker.

Mildred Gale (Eller) Paris

May 13, 1924 - August 30, 2024