Natalie Gale Myers

Natalie Gale Myers, 88, passed away peacefully on November 26, 2024. Natalie was born to Della Mae (Cannon) Petty and Charles Vernon Petty on January 18, 1936, in Chanute, Kansas. She was raised in Chanute, the oldest of 4 children, including 2 younger brothers, Darold and Tony, and the youngest, a sister Marcille. 

In 1952, Natalie went skating with her girlfriends on a Friday night in Chanute. There she met Dale, the man many years later she would still say thrilled her when he walked into the room. If you asked Natalie, she would recount that Dale’s freshly ironed shirt, polite manners, and graceful skating drew her to him. According to Dale, Natalie’s beautiful smile was pure magic… along with how those skates and short shorts showed off her pretty legs. Either way, true love was sparked, and hand in hand they faced the challenges and joys of life together for over 67 years. 

Shortly after their marriage in February of 1953, Dale and Natalie moved to Fort Bragg, North Carolina where Dale served in the Army. From there they moved back to Kansas and started both a family and a quest for Dale to get a college education. Their first son, Larry Dale, was born in March, 1955. His time on Earth was short and Natalie has been anticipating their heavenly reunion since January, 1956. This great sadness in the lives of Natalie and Dale was eventually accompanied by joy with the birth of three more children in the coming years: Duane Eugene, Terri Gale, and Lynette Kay. With Natalie’s great support, Dale received a bachelor’s degree from Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS, and a master’s degree from the University of Tulsa. Dale would always recount that his achievements were a team effort. Natalie managed their household with love and patience, living in cramped married student housing, operating on a shoestring budget, and keeping their growing family well cared for (and occasionally quiet) so Dale could focus on his studies. Their efforts paid off, and Dale and Natalie experienced adventure and success with Dale’s involvement in the Apollo spacecraft mission and then a career in electrical engineering with American Airlines in Tulsa, Oklahoma until Dale’s retirement in 1990.

Natalie was a wonderful mother and homemaker, devoting herself to her family and tending to their needs and encouraging them in all their activities. Once her children left the household, Natalie satisfied a life-long desire to obtain a college degree of her own. She achieved that goal in 1984, earning an early education degree from Northeastern State University, in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Not long after receiving her degree, Natalie became a grandma and again dedicated herself to her family. She loved her grandkids and would put aside whatever she was doing if the opportunity came to spend time, tell stories, and make a happy memory with a grandchild, or eventually a great grandchild.

Natalie’s other interests included traveling with Dale, reading, and artistic pursuits like ceramics and painting. She had an eye for unique and beautiful things and collected many bells over the years. Natalie took great pleasure in her pets, including dogs, cats, and canaries. Her gentle, quiet, sweet spirit attracted animals, and she found a home for many a stray, and provided many a hurt creature a chance to recover. She loved children and babies, and they responded and loved her right back. Audrey Hepburn once said, “elegance is the only beauty that never fades,” and Natalie’s family will always remember her as both elegant and beautiful.

Natalie is survived by her siblings, Tony Petty and Marcille Callarman, son, Duane Myers of Carthage, MO; daughter, Terri (Tom) Prusator of Afton, OK; daughter Lynette (Dan) Brown of Henryetta, OK; grandchildren Danielle Myers, Paige (Kyler) Bybee, Ashley (Justin) Henson, Michael (Dawn) Prusator, Brenden (Valerie) Brown, Weston Brown, Jeremy Brown and Tyler Schmidt; and great-grandchildren, Thomas, Natalie Mae, Viviann, Bear, and Lily Gale. 

Natalie was preceded in death by her parents, Della and Charles Petty, her husband, Dale, their son, Larry Dale, and her brother, Darold.

Funeral services will be held at 12:00 Noon, Friday, November 29, 2024, at Worley-Luginbuel Funeral Home Chapel in Grove, OK. Graveside services will be held at a later date, at Memorial Park Cemetery, in Chanute, Kansas. She will be laid to rest next to Dale. Details will be provided later.

If you are compelled to make an offering in memory of Natalie, the family would suggest helping to support your local pet shelter during these upcoming winter months when their needs are especially great.