Wanda Sue Robins

Wanda Sue (Beesley) Robins was born on December 6, 1945 in Clarendon, Texas to Herbert Elton and Berniece Ileene (Massingill) Beesley. She entered eternity on June 25, 2025. Sue is preceded in death by both parents and all 5 siblings; Sonny, Edith, Maybelle, Herby and Tim. She is survived by her children: Erik Robins and wife Mary of Dickson, Oklahoma; Edie Robins of Tishomingo, and Amber Wooley and husband Jason, also of Tishomingo. 6 grandchildren: Megan Hawkins and husband Brandon of Prattville, Alabama, Leah John and Justin Rankins, Cristen Bayless and husband Cory, Kassidy Marks and husband Austin, Jordan Wooley and wife Hannah and Caleb Wooley, all of Tishomingo. And 7 great-grandchildren: Jace and Jacob Hawkins; Aubrey, Ellasyn and Cooper Rankins; Everly and Tucker Bayless. Sue’s parents were sharecroppers, picking cotton to support their family. She began helping her parents and siblings in the fields at a young age. The family moved often but mostly stayed in Johnston County. As a result, she was only able to attend school through the sixth grade and began working full time to help make ends meet. Over the years, she fought her way up from the cotton fields and went on to hold many titles. She was a head start assistant teacher, waitress at the Western Inn and manager at Ardvark Video. Sue married Wayne Robins on February 11, 1972 and began her most cherished role as a stay-at-home mom. Once her children grew up and started their own lives, she found her next calling: advocating for her community and her passions. She became Executive Director of the Johnston County Chamber of Commerce in 1997, a title she held through 2006. After leaving the chamber she became a Volunteer Coordinator for Victory Home Health and Hospice before transitioning to the Chickasaw Nation. She served as a Site Attendant for the Washita Farms Museum until it closed due to flooding, at which time she moved to the Chickasaw Bank Museum, where she was employed at the time of her passing. Aside from the official titles she held, she had many other accomplishments. Just to name a few of her favorites, she was a founding member of the “Friends of the Refuge” (now known as T.R.E.E.S), sat on city council beginning in 2013 and was nominated as Mayor of Tishomingo in 2019. Some would say she was like a dog with a bone. Once she came across something she felt was unjust, she would leave no stone unturned. She would make phone calls, go door to door, arrange town hall meetings, call the newspapers, do anything to get people to pay attention. And it usually worked! She was a fierce protector of, not only her family, but of her community and the people within it. She would always say “We can bicker amongst ourselves, but nobody is about to push us around in our own backyard!” We are so proud of her. When she wasn’t arranging uprisings, she was just good ol’ Gram. She loved to garage sale, garden and can, she made huge batches of jelly at least once a year and she wasn’t scared of anything. She’d get a kick out of it when we’d call her “Annie Oakley” after she would do something completely off the rails, like grab a possum with her bare hands and throw it off in the woods. She loved to fish and trap and had a fishing guide service for women for several years. Her guiding service was born out of a desire to share her knowledge and passion for fishing with other women while also ensuring and promoting their safety. You wouldn’t catch her very often without a fishing pole and shouldn’t be surprised if you came across her casting a line or two in her high heels on the way to or from a meeting. She was classy and spunky, and you never had to wonder what she was thinking. A woman molded by hardships and trials who turned into a warrior in every sense of the word. As her family, we commit ourselves to pushing forth the legacy she leaves us. A legacy of love, passion, family, strength, nature and protection. A Celebration of Life will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, June 30, 2025, at DeArman-Clark Funeral Home Chapel in Tishomingo. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Our Neighbor’s Cupboard Food Bank, P.O. Box 184, Tishomingo, OK 73460.

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Wanda Sue Robins

December 6, 1945 - June 25, 2025