Meredith Haynes

Meredith Haynes Meredith Harvey Wilkerson Haynes of Grove, OK, died Friday, February 20, 2009, at the Grove Nursing Center. She was 88. Graveside services will be held Friday, February 27, 2009, at 1 p.m. at the Neodesha Cemetery under the direction of Penwell-Gabel Loran Fawcett Chapel in Neodesha, KS. Pastor Jim Logan will officiate. Mrs. Haynes will lie in state and Thursday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. The daughter of Albert Roy and Millie Ruth Sanders Harvey, she was born October 29, 1920, in Neodesha, KS. She was raised in Neodesha and attended Neodesha schools. She was drum major for the City Drum Corps in 1938-39 under the direction of Fred Vance. On December 10, 1939, she was united in marriage to Vernon John Whitey Wilkerson. He preceded her in death in 1973. She later married Robert H. Haynes in 1975. He preceded her in death in 1999. A professional singer, Meredith was a member of the Harvey Sisters, a singing group that resembled the Andrews Sisters. They performed throughout the region in the thirties and forties. Later, she was the featured vocalist with her husbands dance band, The Whitey Wilkerson Orchestra. Mrs. Haynes was also a homemaker who lived in Bartlesville, OK, for 17 years, in Tulsa, OK, for eight years and in Grove, OK for 19 years. Survivors include one son, Steve Wilkerson of Covina, CA; one grandson, Chance Wilkerson of Los Angeles; one sister, Mary Kiddoo of Independence, KS; two step-daughters, Laura Haynes of Montana and Elizabeth Haynes of Arkansas. In addition to her husbands, she is preceded in death by her parents; one son, Mike Wilkerson; two daughters, Connie Jo and Marsha Kay Wilkerson; two sisters and four brothers.