Zella Marie Gifford Brown was born October 22, 1935, in Thomas, to Eddie and Julia (Corn) Powers and passed away Sunday, May 19, 2024, at Oxford Springs in Weatherford, at the age of 88 years, 6 months and 27 days.

Zella was raised in Thomas and attended school at Independence School, graduating from Independence High School in 1953. On January 17, 1954, she married Lealon Dean Gifford in Clinton. They made their home in Cactus, Texas; Stratford, Texas; and later to Guymon, Oklahoma. They lived in Guymon for 30 years where she worked at GTE as a phone operator and then at First National Bank as a bank clerk but her favorite job was her last job working for the City of Guymon part time as a records clerk.  In 1996, after retiring, they moved to Weatherford to be closer to Zella's family. After Dean's death Zella married Loy Brown on January 20, 2017 in Oklahoma City and they made their home in Weatherford.

Zella enjoyed spending her days in her flower garden, volunteering with her church, the community, the Heartland Museum, PEO, bird watching and watching local sports.  She loved being able to teach kids how to read in Early Bird Reader at Burcham Elementary, visiting with her neighbors, and spending time with family and friends especially around the holiday times.

Zella is survived by her husband of seven years, Loy Brown; Her three sons and their families: Mike, Mark and Shawn, Brent and Heather; Loy's children and their families: Mike and Debbie, Travis and Heidi, Paula and Dale; eleven grandchildren; fourteen great-grandchildren; sister Judy, and sister in-laws Jean and Ella.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Dean; and three brothers, Eugene, Bill, and Duane.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Lung Cancer Research Foundation, 501 7th Ave., Suite 230, New York, NY 10018 or Heartland of America Museum, 1600 S Frontage Rd., Weatherford, OK 73096.