Mattie Lou Baskin

Mattie Lou Newman Baskin, 94, of Stratford, Texas, passed quietly from this life in the afternoon of Monday, December 23, 2024, at her home in rural Sherman County in the house she has lived in since her marriage in 1948. A celebration of Mattie's life will be held on Friday, December 27, 2024, at First Baptist Church, Stratford, TX, at 11 o'clock in the morning with graveside service to follow in the Stratford Cemetery. Services are under the direction of Beeson-Morrison Funeral Directors, with son Steve Baskin officiating, aided by Michael Rinne, pastor of FBC, Stratford. Family visitation will be from 5 o'clock in the afternoon until 7 o'clock in the evening on Thursday, December 26, at the funeral home in Stratford.

Mattie was born in Rosebud, Arkansas, on January 7, 1930, one of nine children of Rollo and Virtena McDowell Newman. She was the second daughter of four daughters and five sons in the family. She came to Sherman County in the winter of 1945 with her family to live on a farm southwest of Stratford. She graduated from Stratford High School in 1948 and was married to Tommy Frank Baskin the same night. They lived in a house that Tommy and Mattie's father, Rollo, built, all of their lives. To this union were born three children, Charles Steven (Sandy), Tommie Lou Gerken(Ray), and Robert Michael (Christian).

Mattie was preceded in death by her loving husband Tommy, her parents, brothers Lowell, Ned, and Dan, sister Betty Jo Johnson, nephews Lowell Dean Newman, and Donald Newman. She is survived by her three children, Steve, Lucy, and Mike, two brothers, Bob and Roy Lee Newman, two sisters, Kathryn Newman and Patricia Vigneau: 10 grandchildren, Amy Kinkel, T.D. Baskin, Melissa Edwards, Megan Zamzow, Cindy Sanchez, Hillary Killingsworth, Holly O'Berem, Carla German, Allison Tumlinson, and Isaac Gerken, and 30 great-grandchildren.

Mattie was a long-time member of First Baptist Church, Stratford, where she was active in WMU, Vacation Bible School, and taught Sunday School classes from Beginners (preschool) to King's Daughters(the eldest ladies in the church) over the years. She had a heart for teaching the Bible, both in the classroom and in her daily life. She also served as a 4-H leader, was a member of Prospectus Study Club for many years, and was a staunch supporter of the Sherman County Library.

She was a homemaker and loved to garden and keep her yard. She taught her children to work by example and gentle persuasion (mostly). She was the embodiment of the virtuous woman described in Proverbs 31.

The family requests memorials be made to First Baptist Church, Stratford, or Coldwater Manor of Stratford, or the Sherman County Library.