Vivian Joyce (Cundiff) Pinkerton, 72, passed away in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on March 27, 2025. Her celebration of life will begin at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, April 5, 2025, at the Lost Creek United Methodist Church in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Burial will follow in Oak Grove Cemetery, Coyle, Oklahoma. Strode Funeral Home and Cremation, Stillwater, is in charge of arrangements.
Vivian was born to Ben and Thora Cundiff in Stillwater, Oklahoma, on August 2, 1952. Her parents already had a ten-year-old son Garry Benjamin when she arrived. Eighteen months later, her brother Steven Frank was born and seventeen months later her sister Joan Thora joined the family.
Vivian described her childhood as wonderful, and she had a close-knit relationship with her siblings. She grew up on the family farm northwest of Perkins, Oklahoma, and attended all 12 years there, where she graduated in 1970. She enjoyed rural life, which included cows, chickens, big gardens, wheat fields, and frequent visits from cousins. She participated in 4-H projects, Farmers Union camps, the Dairy Judging Team, and FHA. She loved school and could not wait to get to college.
She lived in the Willard Dormitory and joined the Gamma Phi Beta Sorority where she made lifelong friends. She received her B.S. and master’s degree in education at Oklahoma State University. It was at OSU where she would meet her husband, Jerry L. Pinkerton, and they were married December 28, 1974. Jerry passed away in March of 2021 after a 46-year marriage. They spent the majority of their married life in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Vivian grew up in the Lost Creek United Methodist Church, got married in the First United Methodist Church in Perkins and in later years attended Saint Stephens United Methodist Church in Broken Arrow.
Vivian was born to be a mother and she and Jerry welcomed Jeremy Joyce in 1976, Benjamin Garry in 1978, and Steven Jerry in 1980. Her great joy was following her children in all their activities. She made sure Jeremy got to her dance lessons and soccer games. She watched Ben and Steven play basketball and baseball. While her career took her to Broken Arrow, she moved back to Perkins so her boys could play sports and enjoy the small-town atmosphere she had so enjoyed. She commuted from Perkins to Broken Arrow for 5 years until Steven graduated. No sacrifice was too big when it involved her children.
Vivian’s vocation was education. She began her career teaching first and second grade in Tryon, Oklahoma. She would later go on to teach at Foyil for a year. The rest of her work history involved working in the Broken Arrow Public Schools, where she served as a school psychometrist and school psychologist. She was always an advocate for the kids, and it was very personal to her. She would go above and beyond and took their well-being to heart.
If Vivian was ready to be a mother, she embraced the role of grandmother with an even greater passion. Peyton and Riley were her pride and joy, and they did not do anything without her noticing. She enjoyed their dancing, soccer, and tennis. Adding Grayson to her grandchildren later in her life was just icing on the cake. Vivian was a unique person with an almost photographic memory. She never seemed to forget the name or face of anyone she ever met. She was a loyal friend who enjoyed a highly active social life.
She hosted many Bunco games for all her friends, planned the Friday Fun Days with retired coworkers, coordinated cousins lunch gatherings and reunions. She planned field trips where she would bring her Broken Arrow friends to Perkins to show them her old stomping grounds. She loved to take them by the school, family farm, and cemetery. She also enjoyed getting together with her siblings and extended family where they would take hayrack rides in the pasture or down country roads, tell stories, play games, and just enjoy spending time together. She felt blessed to have so many cousins that she adored on both the Cundiff and Bridenstine side of the family.
Vivian had a generous spirit and would agonize over selecting the perfect Christmas gift for her Angel Trees. She always rooted for the underdog and had great empathy for others. She did many things behind the scenes to help those in need. She had a tender heart and lived her life with great gratitude.
Vivian was interested in so many things. One of her passions was genealogy. She and her brother Garry could talk for hours about ancestors and how to connect the dots. Genealogy did not have to be her family. She could walk through a cemetery and see a neighbor’s name on the headstone. She would head back to her computer and research them until she found out all about them. Vivian did not just float through life. She absorbed it. Nothing got by her, nothing was missed. She noticed every detail of her life and soaked in every bit of it. She lived and loved life to the fullest. She will be so missed.
She is preceded in death by her parents, Ben and Thora Cundiff, and her husband Jerry. Vivian is survived by her daughter Jeremy Pinkerton, her son Benjamin (Stephanie) of Broken Arrow and Steven Pinkerton of Perkins. Grandchildren Peyton Helen and Riley Vivian Pinkerton of Broken Arrow, and Grayson Lee Pinkerton, also of Broken Arrow. She is also survived by brothers Garry (Carol) Cundiff of St. Louis, Missouri, and Steven (Mary) Cundiff, sister Joan (Dan) Hubbard, all of Perkins. She leaves behind many beloved nieces, nephews, great nieces, great nephews, a multitude of cousins, and a host of very good friends.
Donations may be made in her memory to the Oak Grove Cemetery, P.O. Box 187, Stillwater, OK, 74076 or charity of choice.
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