Julea Ranell Dockery

Julea Ranell Dockery passed away in The Village, Oklahoma after a long illness on Sunday, October 26th, five days before her birthday. She was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on October 31, 1959, to Tom and Judy Purvis. Her father was in the Army so Julea moved frequently until settling in Oklahoma City for the 11th Grade. She met her future husband David at John Marshall High School, before attending Central State University in Edmond, where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting. She went to work as an accountant, passing the CPA exam and receiving her CPA certificate in January, 1986. She worked until 2013, when she had to stop due to her health problems.

Julea is survived by her husband David; her son Michael (and his wife Crystal) of Old Town, Maine, and their children Adeline, Aiden and Lily; Amy Bobbitt (and her husband Jonathan) of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and their children Emmirson and Sarah; and Alisha Wilkes (and her husband Kyle) of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and their children Benjamin and Kaylee. She is also survived by her three sisters and two brothers, along with their spouses, children and grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her father Thomas Purvis, mother Judith Purvis and brother Tommy Purvis.

David and Julea were married at Village Baptist Church on December 19th, 1981 and left the next day for their first trip to Hawaii. Julea enjoyed traveling and Hawaii was her favorite destination. Through a combination of David’s work and vacations, Julea made over 10 trips to Hawaii, along with Alaska, Guam, Trinidad and Tobago, Grand Cayman, Belize, Canada and multiple states in the US.

Julea enjoyed reading, doing cross stitch, collecting Raku, and being with her grandchildren. For the last several years, Julea read through the Bible every year using the Bible app on her phone. When she was no longer able to read on her phone, she listened to the Bible every day prior to her hospitalization.

Julea’s favorite song was “Because He Lives”. She stated many times that she wanted it played at her funeral. For the last couple of years prior to her hospitalization, one of the last things she did before going to bed was to listen to Charlotte Ritchie singing “Because He Lives” from the Gaither Toronto Homecoming video. In August of 2022, she got to go to Tulsa for the Gaither Homecoming Concert and met Charlotte Ritchie. The prior month Julea met Charlotte’s husband Greg Ritchie, the drummer for The Gaither Vocal Band on the Gaither Alaska cruise.

https://youtu.be/rdMOb0VP92g

Julea was diagnosed with Huntington’s Disease in 2015 and made annual trips to Wichita, Kansas to participate in a study at the Hereditary Neurological Disease Centre. Sadly, she was not able to make the trip this year. We would like to thank Greg Suter, Norberta (Birdie) Robertson and the other staff members who worked with Julea over the years.

The family would like to thank the doctors, nurses and others who took care of Julea over the last 10 months. Many commented on how Julea would smile at them and how happy she was.

A memorial service will be held on Monday, November 3rd, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. at The Village Bible Church, 10600 North May Avenue, The Village, Oklahoma 73120. The burial will take place on Monday, November 3rd, 2025 at 1:30 p.m. at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens, 8701 Northwest Expressway, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73162. A viewing will be held on Saturday, November 1st from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. at Smith and Kernke Funeral Home, 14624 North May Avenue, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73134.

The family asks that in lieu of flowers, any donations would be made in Julea’s name to the Hereditary Neurological Disease Centre, 9300 E. 29th Street N, Suite 350, Wichita, KS 67226. Phone 316-609-3020.

Donate — Hereditary Neurological Disease Centre

https://www.huntingtonsdiseaseclinic.com/donate