During the harvest full moon, our beloved Mema, Sonja “Mema” Herron Keck, made her journey home. She loved laughter and music, and above all, her family and friends. The daughter of Verda and Woodrow Wilson Herron, she was born on April 29, 1941 in Council Hill, Oklahoma, and entered her everlasting home at midnight on October 8, 2025, at the age of 84. She was one in a million and beloved by all.
In her childhood years, her family relocated to the state of Washington. Mema often referred to her family as “The Grapes of Wrath”, and said they relocated in hopes of earning a better living picking apples. After four years, the family returned to Tulsa where she grew up with one brother, Charles, and two sisters, Karen and Jeri. She attended East Central High School as a member of the class of 1959 and became the Basketball Queen of East Central High School her senior year.
After graduating, Mema waitressed at the Italian Pepe’s Villa Capri, and Shadow Mountain Inn Country Club. She graduated from Northeastern State University in 1979 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Tourism Management. She was always the bell of the ball, so tourism fit nicely with her personality, as she so loved sharing with people and visiting. In 1986 she opened her first business Git Away Travel, and oh how she loved sending people on amazing trips!
Mema was loved in life and had good relationships with three wonderful men who shared her love of music and dancing.
She first married Billy Ray Jackson,the father of Christopher and Robin Jackson.
Then with Glen Wheeler Keck, had two sons, Eric and Richard Keck, and in 1976 they relocated to Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and she would remain at her house in the Woodall community for 50 years. In 1985, she met the love of her life Mackie “Wayne” Gourley at the Osiyo Club dancing. She would spend 37 years along his side dancing, hitting garage sales, attending music shows. Together they created a home filled with treasures, and became master gardeners. They are now dancing together again, twirling across the universe.
She hosted amazing events for her family including full contact Easter Egg hunts with a tradition of funny hats, open-door Thanksgiving gatherings, where all were welcomed with open arms, and maybe most loved of all, her yearly reading of a Night Before Christmas. During her years of waitressing she discovered the secret to the most amazing Sonja’s Lasagna meal that she was proud to share with loved ones at family celebrations.
She loved blessing her family and community. There was nothing more thrilling than celebrating her birthday during the Red Fern Festival. She was a lover of books and Elvis Presley. She was a voracious reader, even reading with her eyes closed.
Mema was so full of life, she was beautiful, eccentric, kind, magical, and fun, and she was loved like no other.
Some of her greatest pleasures in life were her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She loved taking them to the Dollar General, going to the picnic rock, celebrating their birthdays, and never missing a ball game. She was truly the matriarch of her family. Those welcoming her into glory are her beloved Wayne, her mom and dad, her brother Charles Wilson Herron, and son Chris Jackson.
There are so many that will cherish her life and memory. Those who will continue her story are her beloved daughter Robin Jackson with partner Steve Kirkpatrick, her grandchildren Trae Ratliff and spouse Magen Ratliff, with great grandchildren Maddie, Ryker, Aislyn, and Asher; Sonja Ratliff and Kyle, with great grandchildren Alma and Ace; her son Richard Keck with spouse Tamara Keck, and their sons Sean and Damien; her son Eric Keck; Sister Karen and John Rushing with their children Cheri, Chris, Jana and Amanda; her sister Jeri Wood and partner Harvey Tipton, with her children Jeff Keene and Mundi Keene , and her brother Charles’ children, Kimberly and Debbie Herron.
Her extended loving family included numerous cousins, other relatives, cherished friends, and her red dirt sisters. To know Mema was to love Mema, no matter how long you were in her presence, and the family would like to thank you all for being a part of her journey, as she is irreplaceable in so many hearts. Mema would want her friends and family to continue to live life as she did with her spirit and humor. In lieu of flowers, the family asked that you send donations to www.kidney.org.
