Annie Meaders

Mary Annette (Annie) Sybrant was born to Roy and Laura Sybrant on June 5, 1962 at Elizabeth Hospital in Prairie Grove, AR. She was their first girl and the second child of what would become 6 siblings over a span of 10 years.  Theirs was the kind of home where the whole neighborhood came to play.   Annie said her Dad would make sure every child in the neighborhood also had a working bicycle. Days were filled with riding bikes and exploring and there was never a shortage of someone to play with.  All of the siblings also helped to tend a giant vegetable garden each summer.

 The family grew up having “home church” as a member of The Church of God, 7^th Day.   Weekly church was usually at a friends house just down the street with a large meeting down in Ft. Smith from time to time.

 Growing up with 8 people in an 800 square foot house soon got to be too much for the oldest two siblings,   so at the age of 14 Annie and her older brother moved to a local boarding house.  Annie would help to earn her keep there by helping to prepare meals and wash the dishes afterward.  As she approached her high school years Annie took a job with the local donut shop, getting up at 4am to go help make the donuts before going to school each day.

 At Prairie Grove High School Annie was a member of band, chorus, French club and Girl Scouts.   Annie was also a member of their local Explorer troop and enjoyed the friends she made, the skills they learned and the trips they made together.  

She was married to Greg Carroll September 27, 1981.  Due to the nature of his business Annie has said they moved 17 times so he could open new locations for used cars.  As a result, she became very good at packing and has taken a wide variety of jobs in her lifetime.  She has sold succulents at a cactus store, worked at the Day Spring Card Factory, was a sports photographer for the Russellville newspaper, was a licensed beautician and rented booth space in several cities, and lastly ended up at Dixie Finance Check Cashers.  And these are just a few examples.

 Near the end of her time with Greg she took a job at Saied Music Company as finance manager where she stayed for 11 years.  This is where she met Mick after he left teaching in 2000 and began a career as an educational road rep in band and orchestra sales.  They began dating in the summer of 2001.  She won his heart and they were engaged by 2003 and were married June 11, 2004.  

Life was fun and full of good times, good food, good music and Annie liked almost any activity that would take them outdoors.  Every year as soon as the weather warmed up enough Annie would live on the back porch from spring until fall!  She also loved to read so the back porch was the perfect setting.  The wedding and honeymoon in Hawaii was a gift from Mick’s mom, but they enjoyed many other trips to places like San Francisco, camping from Taos all the way to the top of Colorado, New Orleans, and cabins on the buffalo River.  Any time there was a chance at a weekend getaway there was a quick trip to Eureka Springs, AR.  The beach was by far Annie’s happy place so her favorites will always be Destin, Panama City, Cape San Blas and, of course, Hawaii.  She also very much enjoyed time with her siblings for holidays, camping, float trips and all the women’s retreats with her sisters.

 Annie left Saied Music in 2010 and spent her last 13 years working in either elder care or child care. Having never had children of her own, she particularly loved taking care of the babies the most.  She came home talking about what each of them were up to every night.

 Annie also enjoyed exploring her creative side.  As hobbies, she enjoyed painting, mosaics, arranging silk flowers, photography and repurposing furniture found at estate sales.  Much of the furniture and other pieces that she painted and stenciled were sold in an antique booth she maintained in Claremore for a few years.

 Annie is remembered for her kindness to everyone.  She was saved at the age of 21 and her walk with the Lord has been continuous and steadfast particularly since her bout with breast cancer in 2007/2008.   Her path has been very difficult in the past 13 months since receiving the first lymphoma diagnosis on New Years Eve of 2022.   In spite of this, she remained positive and displayed God’s love and a belief in her faith right to the end.   The decision to come home for hospice was absolutely her own and we did everything we could to meet her needs and wishes until her life’s journey came to an end on January 23^rd.

 The family would like to sincerely thank all those that followed Annie daily on the Caring Bridge sight and for the very generous donations to the Meal Train site as well.   Also, they want to extend their extreme gratitude to the entire nursing staff of the 14^th floor of St. Johns Ascension Hospital.  Annie was in their care for almost 90 days from mid-August until January 3.  This staff was so caring, attentive and gentle with Annie and the family will never forget.

 Annie was preceded in death by her parents Roy and Laura Sybrant of Prairie Grove, AR. She is survived by her immediate family:  Husband, Mick Meaders of Tulsa; two step daughters: Amanda Vavra of Jenks, OK, her husband David Vavra and 3 grandchildren, Wilson, Isabelle and Lincoln; Abby Henderson of Silver Spring, MD and her husband Cody Henderson. Her siblings:  Arthur Sybrant of Hogeye, AR, his wife Sheila and one niece. Freda Wilson of Weddington, AR, husband Tommy and 2 nieces; Dora Johnson of Prairie Grove, AR, husband Jim and 2 nephews. Douglas Sybrant of Farmington, AR, wife Cheryl, 2 nieces and a nephew James Sybrant of Tulsa, OK.

Memorial donations may be made in Annie's name to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, https://www.lls.org/article/tribute-and-memorial-gifts .

Arrangements are entrusted to Schaudt's Tulsa Funeral Service, 5757 South Memorial Drive, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74145. Family and friends are invited to leave kind words of comfort, share special memories, and offer condolences to the family online at www.schaudtfuneralservice.com.