Juanita Miggletto

Juanita Colleen Hamlin was born in the evening hours of Tuesday, September 1, 1942 in the home of Adi Eli in the Honey Hill community southeast of Stilwell, Oklahoma. The eighth and final child born to Leonard Lee Hamlin and Edna Josephine (Thomas) Hamlin. She passed from this temporary life into eternal life Tuesday, January 10, 2023, at the age of 80 years, 4 months and eight days.

Juanita attended a two-room school house at Honey Hill. She later attended Stilwell Schools until her father took a job in Sand Springs where she attended school for one year. Upon returning to Stilwell she skipped two grades graduating in 1959 at the age of 16. She worked as a bookkeeper and auditor for TG&Y and Gibson's Department Store in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She met and married Dennis Miggletto. They moved to Stilwell when they began their family, placing their focus on family over their careers. She worked at the Bank of Commerce, Aztec, the forerunner to Cherokee Nation Housing Authority and the OSU Extension Office. Her last job would be as the secretary and program coordinator for the Adair County Conservation District where she retired after 37 years of service. Over the years she and her husband owned and operated the Strawberry Capital Restaurant, the Eagle Theatre and J & D Properties, a company they founded that renovated, managed and sold real estate around Stilwell.

Her greatest accomplishment was her family. She delighted in her children and sacrificed professional success to put her family before herself. She rarely missed attending one of their many sporting or music events. She and Dennis purchased the Eagle Theatre in 1987 because she thought it would be better than her kids going out of town and she thought it would be a great opportunity to teach them some business skills. Life really began with the birth of her first grandchild. She and Dennis said if they knew grandkids were this good, they would have skipped kids all together! They were a source of lasting joy. Her infamous saying was that she could rock a baby and forget there was a world. She enjoyed her retirement playing games of all kinds and some traveling with close friends and family.

Juanita was preceded in death by her parents Lee & Edna Hamlin; her oldest son Loren E. "Tony" Ellis, Jr; husband Dennis Miggletto, brothers Boyd F. "Gabby" Hamlin & wife Wyonia and Paul E. Hamlin; her sister Effie M. Pettigrew & husband Wade; mother-in-law Lynn Duncan, brothers-in-law: Bill Cullers, Ben Duck, David Burlin & wife Ellen, Jim Burlin & wife Jaynell, several nieces, and nephews.

She is survived by her son Brian Miggletto & wife April of Lake Tenkiller, OK, daughter Theresa Butler & husband Owen of Tahlequah, OK, son Shelldon Miggletto & wife Dusty of Stilwell, OK. Grandchildren: Alexandria (Ali) Stout and husband Blake of Siloam Springs, AR, Luke Rouhselang of Centerton, AR, Clint Rouhselang of Fayetteville, AR, Jake and Carter Miggletto of Stilwell, OK and Brice Miggletto of Lake Tenkiller, OK. Two Great-Grandchildren: Isaiah and Sebastian Stout of Siloam Springs, AR.

Juanita is also survived by one brother Bill Hamlin of Collinsville, OK and three sisters Wilma Cullers of The Village, OK, Faye Isaacs and Pearl Duck of Stilwell, OK. Her brother-in-law Charles Burlin & wife Leota of Loomis, California; sisters-in-law Lynda Hamlin of Stilwell, OK and Diane Erlitz & husband Frank of Payette, Idaho, many nieces, nephews other relatives and many friends, namely Velma Ketcher, Mary Lucero, Carol Gore and Cindy Roberts her Tuesday lunch buddies.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Honey Hill Cemetery Fund, c/o Carson Community Bank, PO Box 512, Stilwell, OK 74960-0512