Imogene Muskrat

Mom, Imogene Muskrat was born May 26, 1929, to Orville and Eutha Marie Roberts at their homestead east of Grove on Cowskin Prairie.  She passed away on September 8, 2023, at St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She attended grade school at Carr Schoolhouse and graduated from Grove High School in 1946.  She often talked about the 2-7-2 Club she was a member of there and all the fun they had.

Growing up, we heard many a story about her and her sisters and brother riding their horse, Thunder, to grade school and the escapades, that happened along the way, many times racing the Buzzard boys on their one-eyed nag to see who could get there first.  She ended up marrying one of those boys, James E. Buzzard, and they had three children: Judy Marie, James Douglas, and Sherry Suzanne. 

As a young woman, Mom worked at banks in St. Paul, Kansas, Southwest City and Grove, as well as the Herbert Ray Insurance Agency.  She also kept the books for Harley Graham’s IGA grocery store, where Harley eventually introduced her to Jeff Muskrat, a handsome Army Lieutenant Colonel who was getting ready to retire and move back to the area.  They married in 1966 and later moved to Denver, where Jeff worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Mom for the National Park Service.

They moved to Cherokee North Carolina when Jeff was appointed as the Superintendent of the Eastern Band of the Cherokees, and she continued working for the park service in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.  She loved that area and the many close friends she made there and became even more proud and more educated about her Cherokee heritage.

In 1986, they returned to Grove where she obtained her real estate license, selling properties for the Thompson & Associates Agency for many years.

Mom loved her family.  She loved southern gospel music.  When we’d visit, we would usually end up all gathered around the piano with her playing and us singing along.  She loved gardening, canning, and raising livestock.  As many of you know, she was an excellent cook.  You just couldn’t rival her cherry pie or, really, anything else.

Anyone who knew Mom knew how much she enjoyed cutting up and having a good time with her kids, grandkids, friends, and anyone she’d meet.  There is no way we will be able to fill the void that she has left in our hearts, but we are so thankful for the time we had with her.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Jeff Muskrat, her parents, her two sisters, Anna Lee Spicer-Barrett and Eula Irene Manning, her brother, J.C. Roberts; her son-in law, Bud Jackson; and her grandson Stephen Drew Jackson.

She is survived by her two daughters, Judy Marie Tinney (David) and Sherry Suzanne Jackson; her favorite son, James Douglas Buzzard (Karen); grandchildren, Milo Shane Bowman, Brody Orville Buzzard (Kira), Mollie Gene Treadway (Vic), Micah Blaine Buzzard (Jessica), Benjamin Ross Jackson; great-grandchildren, Maizy Tsula Buzzard, Maren Josie Buzzard, Noah Courtland Crouch, Sloane Adair Buzzard, Evelyn Kate Buzzard, and Archer Blaine Buzzard.

A visitation for family and friends will be held from 5-7 p.m., Tuesday, September 12, 2023, at Worley-Luginbuel Funeral Home, located at 711 S. Main Street.  Funeral service is scheduled for 1:00 PM, Wednesday, September 13, 2023, at Grove’s First Baptist Church with Pastor Gary Butler officiating.  Imogene will be laid to rest in Olympus Cemetery.  Memorial donations can be sent to Gideon’s International or St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.