BIOGRAPHY

Stokes was born as Revah Leon Hafer in Alliance, Nebraska, USA, on 26 July 1911 (claimed 23 July). Her parents were Robert Hafer (1884–1946) and Alma Foster (1885–1952). She had at least four siblings: Emily Bell Holden (1913–1997), Earl L. Hafer (1914–1999), Hazel Ward (1920–2007), and Esther Ellen Ensminger (1923–2017). Her family traveled a lot. Her father would buy stores, renovate them, and then sell them for a profit. They would move on to the next town and do it all over again. In 1919, her family took a trip from Missouri to California in a car that could go about 20 miles per hour. In that very year, she underwent an appendix removal surgery, which took place on the dining room table.

On January 4, 1931, in West Plains, Missouri, she married Glenn L. Stokes (1913–1974). The couple had three children: Virginia Smith, James Stokes (1939–2004) and John Lloyd Stokes. For a span of twenty years, she worked as a switchboard operator at Southwestern Bell Telephone Company in both Versailles and Eldon (both in the state of Missouri).

In 1985, she moved to Salina. She was an active member of Salina Heights Christian Church.

Stokes passed away in Salina, Kansas, USA, on 12 November 2021, at the age of 110 years, 109 days. She was survived by seven grandchildren and an unspecified number of great-grandchildren and great-greatgrandchildren.

RECOGNITION

At the time of death, she was one of the oldest living residents of Kansas.

ATTRIBUTION

* “Reva L Hafer Stokes” – Find A Grave

* “Revah L. Stokes” – Kidwell-Garber Funeral Homes

* “’It’s been a fun life’” – Salina Journal, 24 July 2019

GALLERY