Eula Doris Nigh Obituary (1913 - 2014)

Eula Doris Nigh, a former longtime time Coffeyville resident was born August 24, 1913, in Vian, Oklahoma, to Lee K. and Eula Beatrice (O'Bryan) Spencer, peacefully passed away on Friday, August 1, 2014 at The Commons Health Care Center in Enid, OK, where she had resided for four months at the age of 100 years 11 months and 8 days. A service celebrating her life will be held Tuesday, August 5, 2014, at 10:00 AM at the First Christian Church in Coffeyville with Pastor Gordon Willhite officiating. Burial will be in Restlawn Memorial Park in Coffeyville. Friends may call on Monday from 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the David W. Barnes Funeral Home in Coffeyville. The family will receive friends on Monday from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the funeral home. As a young child Doris moved to Sallisaw, OK where she was educated. She was honored with a loving cup as the "Best All-Around Student" in academics, athletics, drama and debate from 1926 - 1930. She was a starter for the basketball team and she high jumped higher than her height. She worked for her father at their Rainbow Cafe. At 16 years old she was the valedictorian of the Sallisaw High School class of 1930. For the first time in history of that school, a student was asked to deliver the commencement speech during graduation. She was selected for that distinction. She attended college at Northeastern Oklahoma State University in Tahlequah, OK, where she was a star basketball player. In the spring of 1931 she played in the AAU tournament in Dallas, TX. Each team in the national tournament entered two players in a a beauty contest, which she won. She became a teacher in a one room school and still remembered how many students she had in each grade. Then she moved to Tulsa, OK, where she worked and played professional basketball. In 1935 she married Frank Edward Nigh in Stillwell, OK. The moved 27 times in 24 months while he worked in the oil fields. He then became a railroader and they moved to Coffeyville, KS in 1942. They were married for 67 years when he died August 2, 2002. She was a loving mother and homemaker. She was a Red Cross Volunteer and active in PTA at McKinley School. She served in various roles in the First Christian Church in Coffeyville, including Sunday school teacher, department superintendent, and many leadership positions of the Christian Women's Fellowship, as well as deacon, and elder emeritus. In 1954 she was instrumental in beginning a prayer group which met weekly until 2005. She will be fondly remembered by the numerous people whose lives she touched through prayer and greeting cards, and her wonderful cooking. She was an inspiration to all she met. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and three brothers, Elijah Wallace Spencer, Harry Lee Spencer, and Ralph Paul Francis Spencer. She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Barry and LaHoma Nigh of Spartanburg, SC; her daughter, Kay Churchill of Enid, OK; six grandchildren, Jeff (and Sammie) Nigh of Conroe, TX, Julie (and John) Kicklighter of Mt. Pleasant, SC, Shara Churchill of St. Joseph, MO; Donna (and Chris) Huber of Overland Park, KS, Rolland Churchill of Merriam, KS, and Ryan (and Keri Jane) Churchill of Carl Junction, MO; and six great-grandchildren, Woodman and Spencer Nigh of Conroe, TX, Bradford and Benjamin Kicklighter of Mt. Pleasant, SC, Lydia Jane and Julia Doris Churchill of Carl Junction, MO. The family suggests memorials to the First Christian Church in Coffeyville; contributions may be left with the funeral home or mailed c/o David W. Barnes Funeral Home, 306 North Cline Road, Coffeyville, KS 67337.