Louise Summers

July 12, 1911 - March 1, 2020

Louise was born July 12, 1911 in Portland, Indiana to Jasper and Anna Clara Hughes. She had two older siblings, Ruth and Ralph. In 1915, tragedy struck this family as the three children contacted Scarlet Fever. Her sister and brother died five days apart, but Louise survived. In 1918, the oil boom hit Oklahoma. Jasper decided to move his family to Oklahoma and work in the oil fields. He was employed by Keener Oil Company, and they moved to a small oil camp near Sperry. Their home was new, had three bedrooms, two screened-in porches, a separate wash house and cellar. However, they did not have modern bathroom facilities, which many country homes did not have. The house became rather crowded as the family soon had seven children. Times were hard. The depression that hit the country was especially difficult in Oklahoma, and many families moved west. At least, the oil business was good, and Jasper managed to hang on to his job, although he was considered a laborer and the wages were poor. All the children learned to work hard. Their social life was centered on their church, the First Methodist. After high school, she lived with a family in Chelsea. This is where she met Rollie D. “Sparky” Summers, a clerk in his father’s grocery store. They were married in 1933 and had two children, Robert J. Summers and Barbra Ann Summers. Some years later, they became the owners of the grocery store, Summers Market. Louise worked right along with Sparky, and this little “Mom and Pop” store was very successful. They were very well respected in this small town. Sparky died in 1971. In a short time, Louise moved to Claremore to be near her daughter and family, Barbra and Tom Pool. Again, her social life centered around her church, First United Methodist Church in Claremore. She valued the many friends from this church. She is survived by Barbra and Tom Pool and their children, Terri Pool Peters and husband, Rick, living in Ramona, and Allen Pool of Claremore. Her son, Bob, died in 2018, and his widow, Beverlyn lives in Tulsa. They had two sons, Robert J. “Bo” Summers, Jr. and wife, Sherri, of Tulsa and Blair Summers of Moore. Louise died March 1, 2020 and was buried in Chelsea. Her desire was to have a party to celebrate her life. To honor her wishes, plans for this occasion will be announced at a later date.