Eloise Harjo

Eloise Minerva Sumpter Harjo, also known as "Little Eloise", was born on May 24th, 1940 in Lawton, OK at the Kiowa Indian Hospital. She passed from this life on February 13, 2019, in Anadarko, OK at the age of 78 years, 8 months and 20 days. She attended Fort Cobb Public Schools prior to graduating from Chilocco Indian Agricultural School in 1958. While attending Chilocco, Eloise met a young Seminole from Sasakwa, OK named Leslie Harjo. She married Leslie and this union brought four children: Leslie, Jr., Carrie, Victor and Sara. Eloise's childhood was spent in the Fort Cobb area, always in the company of her brothers, sisters, cousins and close friends from other tribes, who became family. She learned to cook from her mother, her aunts, and by interacting with other tribal elders.This gift was a continual blessing to her church family and those closest to her. Eloise's basic goodness formed at an early age through exposure to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and her acceptance of Him as her savior. First Caddo Baptist Church became a second home to Eloise. Attendance was mandatory in her family's church. And, through the teachings of the Word, guidance of the Holy Spirit, and complete submission to God, she therefore found her calling to be: a servant to others, a servant of God. . .a Good and Faithful servant!Following the passing of her husband Leslie, Eloise moved her family from Sasakwa, OK to her childhood home in Fort Cobb. She became an assistant special education teacher in the Anadarko Public School System. And many of her former students remember her fondly to this day. After she left Anadarko Public Schools, she began a career with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. She started in higher education and soon after transferred to the Office of Special Trustee as an accounting technician, eventually retiring in December 2008. Retirement led to her caring for granddaughter Araya, which she relished in. It was this sort of love- motherly, all encompassing, never failing- that her family knew well, including all of her cousins, and her nieces and nephews whom she loved like her own. It was this love that led her to serve at First Caddo as Treasurer from 1982 until her passing. Eloise was preceded in death by: her husband Leslie Harjo, Sr.; her parents Scott and Eloise (Sturm) Sumpter; daughter Carrie McCraw; her brothers Curtis Sumpter and Gibson Sumpter; and her sisters Florence Restow, Nancy Whitmire, Carmelita Annotobby, Mary Pat Francis Clark, Wildena Moffer, and Shirley French. She is survived by: her sons Leslie Harjo, Jr. of Thomas, OK and Victor Harjo of the home; her daughter Sara Watkins and husband Craig of Anadarko, OK; her grandson Adrian; her granddaughters Valerie, Krystal, Robin, and Araya; her great-granddaughters Natalie and Rylie; her sisters Theresa Haggard and Pat Carter Files; and a host of family and loved ones to mourn her passing. Prayer Service: 7:00 P.M., Friday, February 15, 2019 First Caddo Baptist Church, Fort Cobb, OKFuneral Service: Twelve Noon, Saturday, February 16, 2019 First Baptist Church, Fort Cobb, OKOfficiating: Rev. Amon Harjo, Rev. J.T. Goombi an Rev. Duke Tsoddle, Jr.Interment: Oak Grove Cemetery, Fort Cobb, OKServices under the direction of Smith Funeral Home, Anadarko, OK.Messages of condolences may be sent to the family at www.smithfuneralservices.com.

Eloise Harjo

May 24, 1940 - February 13, 2019

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