Funeral services for Molly Anthony, 82, a longtime resident of Elida will be held at 10:00 AM, Mon., Aug. 29, 2022 at the Elida Methodist Church with Rev. Herb Gage and Rev. Vaughn Gossman officiating.  Burial will follow in the Elida Cemetery with Darrell Chenault, Jimmy Dale Ward, Sid Price, Dink Looney, John Hatcher and Chad Hatcher serving as pallbearers.  All of her many family members and her countless friends will be honorary pallbearers.  In addition, the family wishes to extend a very special recognition to the staff of the Bee Hive Home in Portales for their tender, attentive care over these past ten years.  The family will receive guests at the funeral home on Sunday afternoon from 4 until 6 PM.  Those desiring to make memorial contributions may send them to either St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105 or to Jeep Sullivan’s Outdoor Adventures to benefit Wounded Warriors, c/o Jeep Sullivan, 1460 Boswell Rd, Bonifay, FL 32425.

Molly Ella Anthony was born Feb. 25, 1940 in Clovis, NM to the home of Katherine Elizabeth (Hershey) and Dudley Bryan Buzard and died early on Thurs. morning, Aug. 25, 2022 at the Bee Hive Home in Portales, where she had been a resident since 2012.  The first few years of Molly’s life she lived at Coyote Lake near Muleshoe, TX, but at the age of 7 or 8 the family relocated to the Floyd community.  Molly graduated from Floyd High School in 1958, and went on to attend a year of college at E.N.M.U.  It was there that she met the love of her life, Freddie Mack Anthony, and they were married on June 28, 1959 at the Floyd Baptist Church.

For a very short time they lived in Farmington, but when they were needed back in Elida to help with harvest, they moved back, and Elida was their home from that time. The Anthony family already had the School Bus contract, so Molly began driving a school bus as soon as school was underway. She and Fred continued to contract for the schools until his death in 2012. Molly not only drove a bus, but also was the bookkeeper not only for the bus company, but also for the Anthony Cattle Company until she suffered a massive stroke in 2007.

Besides her family and their businesses, Molly was a very active and devoted member of the Elida Methodist Church, where she gave much of her time to the United Methodist Women serving as Secretary/Treasurer for many years.  She not only served locally in the organization, but was the Conference Secretary as well.  That position required quite a bit of travel to fulfill her duties.

In her younger years she enjoyed playing volleyball on a ladies’ team, and competed against other teams in the area.  She loved to sew, and made clothing for all of her family, and even some of her extended family.  She also enjoyed crocheting and reading, especially mysteries and romance novels.  She and Fred were also active in the Antique Car Club.  Together, she and Fred enjoyed many trips, some for pleasure and some for business.

She is survived by her two sons and daughters-in-law, Mark and Tomie Anthony of Clovis and John D. and Shelli Anthony of Elida; eight grandchildren, Christopher (Alicia) Anthony, Sandy Anthony and companion Raymond, Dustin Anthony, Shalie (Greg) Jackson, Shanna (Sam) Sparks, Nathan Garcia, Jarrod (Lindsey) Purvis and Reba (Kraig) Stockstill; 15 great-grandchildren; her sister-in-law, Glenda (Mrs. Ronald) Anthony of Elida; nine nieces and nephews, Jana Roberts, Cherry Eckland, Harold Anthony, Will Anthony, Scott Buzard, Larry Luce, Susan Looney, who was Molly’s devoted caregiver for the past ten years, Bryan Luce and Sally Good; and her life-long friends, Clo and DeLano Arnold of Akron, CO.  Molly was preceded in death by her father, Dudley Buzard, her mother and step-father, Katherine and J. T. “Travis” Clegg, her son, Stanley Anthony who died Feb 16, 1991, her brother, Jerry Buzard also in 1991, her sister, Kay Luce in 2012, two of her nephews, Adam Anthony and Dan Buzard, and by her beloved husband, Fred who die Aug. 9, 2012.

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