Jodelle Pheba Stout

 Jodelle Pheba Stout (Jody) passed away January 30, 2025, in Tulsa. Jody was born August 11, 1936, to John and Josephine (Wollenson) Landes in Enid, OK. She was named after her great-grandmother Pheba, her grandmother Della, and her mother Josephine. She grew up on her family’s wheat farm in Billings, OK.

 After graduating from Billings High School, she attended OU for one year to study music (as an aspiring opera singer) before transferring to OSU to pursue a degree in elementary education. While attending a fall dance in Stillwater, she met Jack Stout. On August 16, 1957, Jack and Jodelle said, “I do.” For 67 years Jack affectionately called her ‘Esmerelda’,or ‘Sweet Young Bride.’ They lived in Tishomingo and Ardmore before returning to Stillwater in 1965, with their three children—Steve, Jill, and Bryan—in tow. Jody taught at Westwood, Skyline, and Sangre Ridge Elementary schools as a first-grade teacher for 32 years.

 Jack and Jody were members at First Christian Church in Stillwater. She was active in the Christian Women Fellowship, the church choir, and the Community Singers. HCE kept Jody busy all year long with quilting, county fair projects, chicken noodle dinners, the annual ice cream social, and of course, assisting Jack with bus tours. She was a joyful helper and always looking for opportunities to pitch in with her many social and community commitments. Her hobbies at home included gardening, houseplants, and sewing projects. She enjoyed sharing her hobbies with her granddaughters and had a project planned whenever they visited. In return, she made every effort to attend any activity her grandchildren participated in. As the grandchildren grew up, Jody loved receiving phone and Facetime calls from her granddaughters living so far away.

 Jody’s love of music was apparent through her life. She used music in her classrooms, sang in the church choir, and even made her stage debut in “Annie Get Your Gun” and “The Sound of Music” in Stillwater’s Town and Gown. She coordinated singalongs for friends, rewrote lyrics to songs for the children’s 4-H skits and various skits with Jack for church and work functions. Jody was even the “radio” in the family car. She serenaded her family with songs from various decades on each road trip and soon, favorites were requested and sung along with her. The Stout’s certainly made a joyful noise, but passersby were probably thankful the windows were rolled up as the musical talent in the family started and ended with Jody. Family Christmas gatherings included beloved traditions (curtesy of Jody’s creative talents), including singing, ringing bells to Christmas tunes, and the nativity play acted out by her 6 granddaughters and narrated by Jody. In her final days, residents at the assisted living called her the ‘Singing Lady.’ Although she didn’t make it to the opera stage, Jody was the star singer in our family and our beloved Songbird. 

 Jody is survived by son, Steve Stout; daughter and son-in-law, Jill and Billy Halstead; son and daughter-in-law, Bryan and Debi Stout; 6 granddaughters, Amy Hope, Kayla and Josh Watkins, Rebekah and Stoker Williams, Hillary and Jake Garner, Heather and Justin Hunter, Breanna Garner; and 12 great grandchildren: Jack, Asa, Klay, and Macy Watkins; Mable Williams; Josie Garner; Anna Jodelle, Otto, and Ray Hunter; Braxton, Broderick, and Bonnie Garner. Jody was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Jack.

 Jodelle Pheba Landes Stout, ‘Sweet Young Bride,’ Mother, Oma, Grandma, and our songbird will be missed.

 A visitation is scheduled for Thursday, February 6, 2025 at Dighton-Marler Funeral Home, Stillwater from noon until 8PM. The family will greet guests from 5PM to 7PM. Funeral services will be Friday, February 7, 2025, at 10:30AM at the First Christian Church in Stillwater. Graveside services will follow at 2PM at the Billings Union Cemetery in Billings under the direction of Dighton-Marler Funeral Home, Stillwater.