Class of 1959
1959 Maroon Spotlight
Ann Keese
Red Hots 56-59; Teen Town Council 58-59; Library Staff 56-58; Red Hots Drill Leader 57-58, Red Hot Vice-President 58-59; Annual Staff 58-59; F. T.A. 58-59; All School Revue 56-57; Class Assemblies 56-59; Style Shows 56-59.
1959 Graduation EditionPerry Daily Journal
Elizabeth Ann Keese, 17, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. M. V. Keese, 1023 Fir avenue, was born December 23, 1941, in Talihina. She attended grade school in Oklahoma City. Her record of school activities includes Red Hots drill leader, Teen town council, Red Hots vice president this year, class assemblies and play, senior play student director, Future Teachers of America, National Honor society, annual and library staffs, all-school revue, Christmas vespers, and she was selected to attend October meetings of American Association of University Women. Sewing is her hobby, and shorthand is her favorite subject. She plans to enter Central State college and hopes to become a teacher.
Elizabeth “Ann” (Keese) Yandell
December 23, 1941 – March 14, 2026
Elizabeth Ann (Keese) Yandell – known to all as Ann – was born on December 23, 1941, in Talihina, Oklahoma, and passed away peacefully at home on March 14, 2026, in Edmond, Oklahoma at the age of 84.
Ann began school in Talihina, attended elementary school in Oklahoma City and graduated from Perry High School before relocating to Edmond, where she and her beloved husband, John Allen Yandell, built a warm and loving home. After 62 beautiful years of marriage, John preceded her in death by only three months. She was also preceded in death by her infant son, Ricky Allen Yandell, her parents, Major Van and Ora Lucille Keese, and her brother, Johnny Keese. She is survived by her daughters, Becca Yocham (Jacksonville, TX), Lisa Hayden, Linda Ault, Jaimee March (all of Edmond, OK), Kim Parham (Fort Worth, TX), and Elizabeth Johnston (Moore, OK), eighteen grandchildren, many beloved great-grandchildren, and her sister, Mary Jane (Keese) Baldwin of Edmond, OK.
Ann was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother whose life embodied love, patience, and selflessness. Her true calling was motherhood. She raised her daughters with the kind of devotion that shaped generations. Ann’s heart was always at home – tending to her thriving plants and garden, coaxing life from even the most stubborn sprig of green. She was known for her resourceful, intuitive cooking, often creating thrifty, delicious meals from whatever came out of her garden that day. Her sewing and crocheting talents filled her family’s lives with handmade dresses, costumes, and countless “grandma blankets,” each one stitched with love and care.
When her daughters grew older, Ann worked for Edmond Public Schools as a Food Service Manager, where she poured the same care into feeding children at school as she did her own at home. It allowed her to be near the routines of family life – home after school, summers together, always present.
Ann was proud of her Choctaw heritage, sharing stories, traditions, and heirlooms of her ancestors with her children and encouraging them to take pride in their roots. She also loved cheering on her favorite team, the Oklahoma City Thunder. She never missed a game-often recording late ones-and gave her full attention to every play
Faith was a quiet but steady force in her life. She loved her church family at Waterloo Church of the Nazarene and was rarely absent until her illness kept her home.
A private joint graveside service will be held for both Ann and John at Gracelawn Cemetery on April 11, 2026. In lieu of flowers, donations in their memory may be made to the American Cancer Society or to Waterloo Church of the Nazarene (457 W. Waterloo Road, Edmond, OK 73025).