Loretta Julia Oden, 79, returned to her Heavenly home on March 05, 2016 after a valiant battle with a long illness. Her devotion to her family and her firm belief in God supported her in her struggle and ultimately gave her peace.
Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee to the late JT and Melrose (Williamson) McSwine, she then became a lifelong resident of the Chicagoland area. After serving in the Air Force, Loretta studied to become a Nurse. A career she thoroughly enjoyed for over 40 years. She was often called upon to give advice to family and friends regarding home health care, a roll she cherished.
“Rusty” as she was called by her Girl Scouts was a leader for many years. She enjoyed taking the girls on various outings such as trips to the White House in Washington, DC, horseback riding, camping and backpacking in the mountains of Wyoming. In order to keep her girls safe while backpacking, she became an authority on North American snakes and outdoor survival. Yes, this hat wearing, fan and hanky swinging church lady did all of this and still maintained those long lovely nails!
She also had a passion for sewing and spent many years sewing for her family. She made all of own handkerchiefs that she could be seen waving in the air at any given time while Pastor Wiley was preaching! She loved the Lord and nothing brought her more joy than to be in church praising Him!
Mother Oden loved to be on the go! It was nothing for her to wake up on a Saturday morning and say let’s go for a ride and end up in St. Louis!
Loretta had many nicknames throughout the years. In younger years she was known as “Rett”, “Rusty” by the Girls Scouts, Mama O by Godchildren, Mother Oden and of course Mommy by her girls, as she called them, .and Gammy by all of her adoring Grandchildren. Then there were the very special nicknames given to her by her baby brother, “Sissy” or “Grey Poupon”!
Mama O had such a way with words. If you told her something that surprised her she would respond “Oh go on”! Tell her something that gave her joy and you could hear “Alright now”! Then there were the stories and there were many! She could make you laugh and cry at the same time! She was known for using funny phrases as a form of illustration, such as “Hard times will a monkey eat black pepper and say he likes it”!
Although she was a Nurse by profession she could have easily been considered a Christian Florist. Everywhere she went she collected Godchildren as though she was strolling through a meadow and plucking beautiful stems and gently placing them in her arms. There she would care for them with words of encouragement and love. As a Christian and an Elder she was viewed as one of the last remaining “Old School” mentors, taking you under her wing and guiding you with such care and love.
By far her greatest legacy is that she taught all that would listen about the Lord. The second was how to make a true friend. As evidenced by the absolute seamless adoption into the Frank Jones and James Boyd families. You took her in as part of a package deal without the slightest hesitation. For this we are eternally grateful.
Left to cherish her memory: Brothers, Edward (Grace), Dietrich (Theresa), Children, Carolyn (Steven), Angela (Jacob), Nicole (Michael). 10 Grandchildren, DeJuan, Donyelle (Starsky), Johnathan (Margaret), Tangela (Dee), DiAndre, Taryn, Joshua, Jada, Noah and Michael. 14 Great Grandchildren, Jakobe, Malaya, Donterrious, Dondre, Naja, Jayda, DeJuan, Braylon, Juanetta, Tierra, Stephhon, Jeremiah, Jeremy and Sincere. Besties, Josie, Illona, Ruth, Velma, Evelyn and more than a Cousin Shirley. Just a few of her Godchildren: Jackie, Bonnie, Camille, Stephanie, Tracy, Tamara, Debbie, LaDonna, Cherrese, Sharon, Zee, Tonya, Amanda, Buster, Johnny and Byrdie. Many other Nieces, Nephews, Godchildren family and friends. Sisters in Christ. Rock of Ages Mother’s Ministry. Not the least of all, her beloved Pastor Marvin E. Wiley.
Visitation
Woodruff Funeral Home / Schaffer Funeral Service 16774 Dixie Highway Hazelcreast, IL 60429
6:00PM - 8:00PM
Repast
VFW, 908 Jackson, Naperville, IL 3 PM to 6 PM
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