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Obituary for Virginia Lee Biffle (Canaday)

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Virginia Lee Canaday Biffle, 99 1/2, of Edmond, OK, passed away peacefully at Integris Hospice House on October 25, 2018, with her family present. Virginia was born in Hominy, OK to Hattie and Nathan Canaday. Nathan was the engineer for Service Pipeline Oil pump stations in Kansas. The family had the first horseless carriage in Centerville, which Virginia began driving at a VERY young age. She also enjoyed bareback riding the family’s pony, as much as possible. As a young girl, she played organ for the church, as she could play by ear, as well as read music. She got in a lot of trouble with her mother when she “jazzed up” the church song, Dwelling in Beulahland. She did the unexpected her entire life. (So many stories!) Virginia was a Rosie during WWII. She worked at the Douglas Aircraft Plant in Tulsa, then later at the Pratt & Whitney Plant in Kansas City, inspecting engine parts for precision. She became a nurse and worked in Pauls Valley, OK, where she took care of an army captain who was badly burned in an oil field explosion and fire, while carrying out others. He wasn’t expected to live, but he did, and the doctor asked Virginia to take him to the Oklahoma State Fair, to get him some fresh air. She made a picnic lunch and the two were later married. Roy E. Biffle was the love of her life. As a nurse in the 1940s, she did everything at the hospital, including delivering babies. Virginia worked side by side with Roy at his fishing lodge in Pensacola, FL. They moved to Tulsa in 1952, where he became Resident Engineer for the Oklahoma Highway Department (now ODOT) and she worked at Service Pipeline Co., Tulsa Public Schools, and finally retired from Cities Service Oil (now Oxy). Most everyone in Tulsa knew her and her blue 1958 Chevrolet Nomad station wagon. She was a great cook; canned from Roy’s huge garden, made home brew, sewed, and embroidered. She had beautiful flower gardens that people came from surrounding states to see. Family and friends continue growing peonies that had been her mother’s in KS. Virginia and Roy loved dogs. They helped start the boxer club in Tulsa in the 1950s. They raised great hunting dogs (for Roy) and Rottweilers, as well as many other breeds, some of which she hand bottled or fed through tubes. She also love people and people loved her. She was very funny and very much a caregiver. She drove from Tulsa to Okmulgee 7 days a week, even after work, for months, to care for her friend’s son who had become quadriplegic and was in rehab. She was a much loved wife, mother, aunt, and grandmother. She was ready to be reunited with her family in Heaven. Virginia is preceded in death by her parents; beloved husband, Roy; sister, Edith Bryant of Park Hill; brother, Louis Canaday of Cherryvale, KS; and son, Gary Rigney of Huntsville, AL. Virginia is survived by her sister, Beryl Murphy of Tulsa; her brother, Glen Canaday of Denison, TX; son, Les Biffle of Cave Creek, AZ and wife Jan; their sons Cliff (wife Jeannette) and Adam; daughter, Geneva Murray of Edmond and husband Don; their son David and daughter M. Geneva; daughter-in-law Carol Rigney of Huntsville, AL and granddaughters Kristen Herrin and Gabrielle Helix, beloved niece Saundra Mace, and many other family members, and friends and neighbors in Tulsa, Edmond, and OKC. At her request, there will be no funeral; her ashes will be next to Roy’s in Pauls Valley, OK. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation at www.myasthenia.org or Parker Community Historical Society, 207 W. Main St., Parker, KS 66072.

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Interment Information

Location
Mt. Olivet Cemetery
Address
Pauls Valley
Pauls Valley, OK
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