Naomi Ruth Shanks

Naomi Ruth Shanks passed from this life to her eternal rest, in her home in Leonard, Oklahoma on January 9, 2021 at the age of 73 years. She was born on January 1, 1948 to parents Linn Leon and Mary McLearan Shanks and was a lifetime resident of Leonard, Oklahoma.

She is preceded in death by her husband Ronnie and her parents. She is survived by brothers Nathan and Jimmy, nieces, nephews, and other family members.

Naomi enjoyed a typical rural upbringing: roaming the hills around the area where she, her brothers, and cousins were raised; attending elementary school at a four-room country school and working in the fields raising and harvesting vegetables. She attended Tulsa University where she received a B.A. in political science and history. Afterwards, she worked as a secretary for the Gable Gotwals Law firm until she began helping in the family business, Shanks Drilling and Production. She did everything the men did not have time to do to keep the business organized and working. She also helped her mother with the farming and selling of produce to individuals and local markets. One of her favorite sayings and one she had taped to the file cabinet where she worked was “Either lead, follow, or get out of the way.” During her marriage to Ronnie, they became involved in a successful paint, quarter horse operation which continued until Ronnie’s death. Naomi worked hard at everything she tried, and it was not unusual to see her still working well after dark. She had a work ethic inherited from her parents that continued until her death even though she became limited in her activity after a stroke some years earlier. What most people did not know was that she loved to sew and was particularly good at it. She was never afraid to try anything once either to see if she could do it, if it were worthwhile, or if she liked it. She will be missed.

A graveside memorial will take place at a future date to be announced.