Lou Ansley

Lou Ansley passed away on November 8, 2025, in Edmond, Oklahoma. Her father, William Lafayette Blair, came to Oklahoma on horseback from Arkansas, and her mother, Louiza Nichols, drove a covered wagon from Texas in 1907, they married in 1908. Lou was born on January 20, 1921, in Elk City, one of eight children, many of whom were born in a dugout.

Lou’s parents’ determination, strength, and steadiness became evident in her personal and business career. She began sewing at age 8 and made patterns from old newspapers. After graduating from Merritt High School, she was working at a local department store when an award-winning advertising manager, William “Bill” Ansley, happened in. They married April 25, 1941, in Elk City, and Bill later served in the Navy during WWII.

After the war, Lou enrolled in a correspondence course with LaSalle Interior Design and worked for Grubitz, a local furniture store. In 1968, she and the Thornton family founded the Ansley Thornton Furniture Store, where Lou loved helping dreams come true for others. She did the interior design for the new First Baptist Church in Elk City, where she attended for 64 years. After the Thornton’s passed away, she continued to operate the store for nine more years. She sold the business in 1993, to care for Bill, who suffered from Parkinson’s.

In 2001, they moved to Oklahoma City to be near family. Leaving friends behind in Elk City was very difficult, but with a positive spirit, she built a new life in Oklahoma City and became active at Quail Springs Baptist Church. She attended church every Sunday until she was 103 ½, and at age 104, she was recognized as Quail Springs’ eldest member. She continued to cook and read for hours into her 100’s.

Growing up, Lou was grateful for her farm neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Searight, who picked her up and took her to church where she accepted Christ as her Savior when she was 15. Her advice to others was “First join a church, study the Bible, and accept the Lord Jesus Christ.” Her greatest blessing to her family is knowing exactly where she is now, in the presence of her Lord.

She was preceded in death by her parents, siblings, and Bill, her husband of 65 years. She is survived by her daughter, Sharon Ann Willis of Edmond; a grandson Carter Wallace, his wife Ivonne, and two great grandchildren, Alex and Emma Wallace.