Josephine (Henderson) Hunter was born June 25,1927 to Forrest Mae Tackett and William Joseph Henderson in Texarkana, Texas.  She was the third of six children.  The family had a big garden, fruit trees and would butcher a hog or cow for meat.  Her dad worked for the Santa Fe Railroad as a machinist until his death in 1937.  A few years later, Josephine dropped out of school and went to work at Red River Army Depot in Hooks, Texas to help make ends meet.  She told them she 18 and could drive.  Neither was true!

She met John Andrew Hunter from Antlers, Oklahoma before he left for the war.  They wrote many letters to one another and when he returned, they got married on November 9, 1945.  They later settled in Shawnee, Oklahoma.  Josephine eventually got her GED at Dunbar school in Shawnee.

Josephine lost four babies before having daughter Ouida and son Johnny.  She was active in her children's school and activities.  She was a chaperon for the Medical Explorers.  Josephine worked at Houston Payne photography studio and at Otasco's in Shawnee.  She eventually went to work at Tinker Air Force Base in 1965.  She worked in the printing department and when that was contracted out, she went to work on the "Hill" in Area D, ordering communications parts for locations all over the world.  She got a divorce from her husband in 1975.  After 28 years at Tinker AFB, she retired in 1993.  This allowed her to go to Texarkana, Texas more often to visit with her mom, sisters and brothers.  Josephine never remarried and lived independently for over 50 years.

She enjoyed traveling with friends.  She went to England, Scotland, Greece, and Malta.  Josephine, Ouida, and Johnny went together to buy a boat.  Even though she was not a water person (she sun burned easily), she would drive the boat for us to ski and would occasionally go fishing.  Josephine went snow skiing twice with her kids.  She had a step through Honda scooter she rode around and she loved to dance!  Some of her favorite artists were Blake Shelton, Toby Keith, and Freddie Fender.  She loved going to Las Vegas.  When they brought the Casinos to Oklahoma, she was so happy!  She loved going to the casinos with her nieces Becky and Dora.

She saw many changes in her lifetime.  From radio talk shows to color TVs to streaming video.  Party line phones to cell phones and computers.  (She loved to play Spades on the computer).  We asked her to sell her car in September of 2024 at 97 years old and she did.  We tried getting her help to keep her in her house for as long as possible.  She fell while at the casino in March of 2025 and broke her hip.  That was the end of living independently.  She celebrated her 98th birthday on June 25th with a small party.  She always looked younger than she was.  She always said, "I've been using Merle Norman make up since 1948."  She loved her Merle Norman!

She left this world on June 30, 2025.  She is preceded in death by her parents Forrest Mae Bennett, William Joseph Henderson, sisters Inez Banks, Hazel Dolph, Martha Sue Gordon, and brothers James Henderson, and Travis Henderson and ex-husband John A Hunter.  She leaves behind her daughter Ouida Plumlee and husband Tom Plumlee, son Johnny Hunter and wife Nancy Hunter and a sister-in-law Billie Henderson, and many nieces and nephews that she loved!