Wilma Joan Mayfield Kidd
Wilma Joan Mayfield Kidd

Wilma was born on May 25th, 1933, to Robert Mayfield and Ella (Roberts) Mayfield in Bilby, Oklahoma, Hughes County near Holdenville. She was the youngest of four children, two boys and two girls. Wilma lost her mother when she was only three years old and for a brief period her and her siblings lived with their grandparents. The children rejoined their father when he remarried and moved with him to Oklahoma City. The family had one additional daughter in 1941.
Wilma began school at Sooner School, then located at Southeast 15th and Sooner Road, in Oklahoma City. After her fourth-grade year, her father moved the family to Ada, where Wilma completed fifth grade through high school. At Ada High School, she was a member of several school organizations including the Pep Club, she served as secretary of the National Honor Society, and participated in both her junior and senior class plays. In her junior year she was selected as a delegate to the American Legion Auxiliary Oklahoma Girls State.
She graduated from Ada High School in 1951 and then attended East Central State College (now ECU), graduating in 1955 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Education degree. While attending East Central, she won a first-place medal in the category of “Grammar and Punctuation” at the Interscholastic Meet.
Wilma married Clyde Kidd from Ada, in 1953 and they had three children, and in 1959, moved to Oklahoma City. While the children were young, Wilma served as a Girl Scout and a Cub Scout leader as well as working part time as a substitute teacher for Oklahoma City Public Schools. During this period, she also returned to school at the University of Oklahoma to complete a second major in LanguageArts.
In May of 1966 Wilma authored a feature article that was published in the “Orbit,” a periodical published by the Oklahoman newspaper. She built a career as a high school teacher focusing on Language Arts and Business first at Northwest Classen High School and later at Star Spencer High School where she also served as faculty sponsor of the National Honor Society. Wilma was active in her professional education organization, The American Federation of Teachers, throughout her teaching career.
After twenty-seven years of teaching, she officially semi-retired in 1990 and in 1994 she and Clyde retired to Sulphur. In Sulphur, she continued to teach part-time, substituting for five years at Sulphur High School. She became an active member of the Murray County Retired Educators Association and served as the unit secretary for four years. Ever the professional, Wilma was known for her commitment to her craft, her empathy for her students, and her respect for the public education system. Many students still remember their teacher, Mrs. Kidd, and how she positively influenced their life along with her near infamous red pen. Wilma loved to read and often would be content skipping TV or movies to read the news or an interesting book.
Wilma was a strong, educated, and professional woman long before this became so normal.
She and her husband were active members of VinitaAvenue Church of Christ in Sulphur and enjoyed collecting birdhouses and traveling. Over the years, she visited Hawaii, Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Montreal, the British Isles, as well as locations throughout the United States. Wilma was the quintessential hostess and a loving, accepting, and committed leader in her family. She was gracious and kind towards anyone she encountered and was well respected and loved for her honesty and straightforwardness.
Wilma and Clyde were proud of their eight grandchildren and eleven great grandchildren.
Wilma is survived by her sister, Wanda Moore; her children Karen (Kidd) Wood, Kraig Kidd, and Kim (Kidd) Doray.
She was predeceased by her husband, Clyde Kidd, brothers, Wayne Mayfield and Warren Mayfield; her half-sister, Lana Grey, and her grandson, Joshua Wood.
Wilma will be interred alongside her husband Clyde in the Oaklawn Sulphur Cemetery and, at her request, there will not be a funeral service.
Arrangements were made under the direction of the DeArman Funeral Home of Sulphur.