Emily Elizabeth Summers Self, lovingly known as “Mommom,” passed away on April 5, 2026, at the age of 95.

Emily was born September 2, 1930, in Hawley, Texas, to Oscar Raymond Summers and Zula Mae White Summers. She grew up attending nearby schools in Anson with her four siblings. As a youngster she was something of a tomboy, happily playing marbles and “mumbly peg,” a pocketknife game popular with boys at the time. She was small in stature and close in age to her younger brother, and the two were often mistaken for twins. They even played steel guitar together as children. At age twelve, Emily entered a photograph of herself in a local pin-up contest and won first prize.

The Summers and Self families were next-door neighbors when Emily was five years old and (Robert) Bobby Lee Self was seven. They were childhood friends until the Self family moved away and World War II intervened.

After graduating from high school, Emily moved to Fort Worth to live with her Uncle Vernon and Aunt Lillian and attended beauty school, earning her cosmetology license. She later returned to Anson and began working at a salon.

It was there that Bob Self returned to town—riding an Indian motorcycle, wearing a leather jacket, and carrying a guitar across his back. Emily gave him a haircut and shampoo, and the two quickly reconnected. After dating for about six months, they were married on May 19, 1951, in the home of her Uncle Carroll White.

After their marriage, Bob’s work took the family across the western United States, including time in California where he worked on the American Canal project. They welcomed their daughter, Sandra Kay “Sandy” Self, on September 3, 1952 in Calexico, California. Emily worked outside the home twice after Sandy was born—first in Phoenix, where she renewed her cosmetology license and worked in a beauty salon (Sandy later joked that she received plenty of perms during that time), and later in Grand Prairie, Texas, where Emily completed secretarial training and worked in an insurance office. Eventually the family settled in Oklahoma City, where Emily and Bob found a home she loved deeply on Northeast 16th Street and they remained there for more than fifty years.

Emily and Bob shared a curiosity about the world and a love of learning. Over the years they hosted several foreign exchange students, welcoming them into their home and introducing their family to cultures from around the globe.

Emily was active in her community throughout her life. She was a member of the Oklahoma State University Extension group Las Amigas, where she held many leadership roles and participated in community service work. She also wrote the neighborhood newsletter for Lincoln Terrace, helped organize neighborhood meetings and events, and was a member of the Oklahoma Historical Society, where she and Bob researched family history together.

She and Bob were longtime members of First Baptist Church of Oklahoma City, where they served faithfully for many years—helping in the kitchen, preparing meals for SALT Wednesday night dinners, assisting with church breakfasts, and volunteering wherever they were needed.

Emily’s life was not without hardship. In 1986, while attending the wedding of a former exchange student in Mexico, she was involved in a devastating car accident. Doctors told her she would likely never walk again. True to form, Emily proved them wrong.

Emily was known for her sharp wit, strong opinions, and unmistakable personality. She loved games of every kind—puzzles, backgammon, cards, and anything that involved a little friendly competition. She rarely let anyone win without earning it, and her grandchildren learned quickly that Mommom played to win. Her humor could be salty, her observations direct, and her presence unmistakable, but those who knew her understood it was simply part of who she was.

Music remained a thread through the generations of her family. All of her grandchildren developed musical talents, and Emily especially loved hearing them play. Even as adults, they could still bring a smile to her face by sitting down at the piano and performing for her.

She also carried a sense of humor about herself—often explaining that she talked so much because she had been born in a telephone switchboard office, and that she was a little “addled” after being run over by horses as a child.

Early on, her grandson Briton insisted on calling her and Bob by their first names, which some people thought was disrespectful. Emily’s response was simple: “It doesn’t matter what they call me as long as they call me with love.” Later, Deshia gave them the names that stayed with them forever—Mommom and Bobbob.

Emily is survived by her daughter, Sandra Kay Self; her grandchildren, Robert Briton Garman (wife Tonya), Deshia René Garman Powers (husband Mike), and Clayton Taylor Stroup (wife Taylor); and her great-grandchildren, Woodson Schindler Garman, Zelle Leia Garman, Emma Adele Powers, and Jack Presley Powers.

She was preceded in death by mother and father Zula Mae White Summers and Oscar Raymond Summers, her grandson Jason Adrian Garman, her siblings Ensy Mae Summers, Mary Louise Summers Huber, Thomas Raymond Summers, Erma Lee Summers Baker, and her husband of 67 years, Robert Lee “Bobbob” Self.

Emily lived a long life filled with stories, family, laughter, and determination. She will be greatly missed by those who knew and loved her.