Corene Valentine Watkins

Corene Valentine (Graves) Watkins, 87, passed away on Saturday, March 4, 2023, at her home in Chandler, Oklahoma.

Corene was born on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 1936 in Little Kansas, Oklahoma to Monty Lee and Virgie Elizabeth (Sisco) Graves. She was raised in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. On October 20, 1954, she married James D. Watkins in Fredrick, Oklahoma. In 1982, they moved to Chandler. James preceded her in death in 1991.

Corene was a stay-at-home wife and mother. She later worked as a CNA at Stroud Health Care Nursing Center for 25 years.

Corene enjoyed sewing, especially doll clothes for her daughters and granddaughters. Her family will remember her as a wonderful and loving mother and the “strongest woman that her family knew”.

Corene was preceded in death by her husband, James D. Watkins; her parents, Monty and Virgie Graves; daughters, Mary Strough, and Brenda Renfro; and several brothers and sisters.

Those left to cherish her memory are her daughters, Zora Lewis and her husband Larry of Chandler, Sherry Smith and her husband Robert of Davenport, Ok, Irene Burks and her husband Kenny of Sulphur Springs, Ok, and Lorene Renfro and her husband Jesse of Cache, Ok; a sister, Esther Faye Reynolds of California; numerous grandkids, great-grandkids, and great-great-grandkids; as well as a host of other family members and friends.