Beauty is often difficult to describe adequately. Alma Imogene Rounds was a beautiful person with unparalleled spirit. She was born on April 12, 1926 four miles south of Leedey, Oklahoma and passed on to her heavenly home on October 15, 2008 at the age of 82 years. Imogene's parents were John Boone and Grace (Vernon) Graybill. She was blessed to have one younger sister, Christine, and five older brothers, Alvin, Nolan, Otha, Dale, and Ledon that she cared for while she was young, as her mother was often ill. She loved her family and Imogene's character and determination was first greatly influenced by caring for and keeping up with all her brothers and caring for her sister. She loved them dearly. They were a family that promoted individual strength and humor. She credited her mother for instilling in her and teaching her about the love of God that Imogene was known for possessing until the last moment of her life. She accepted Jesus as her savior and was baptized at the age of ten at the First Baptist Church in Leedey. She spent the rest of her life trying to live as God would have her live. She truly understood the love God provided; relied on the strength he gave her and shared this belief with her words and actions. She categorically knew God was to be put first in a person's life and tried to live to please Him.

Imogene attended Pleasant Hill Elementary School through the 6th grade in a one room school house, walking to school more than a mile away. Then she completed her high school education at Leedey High School finishing third in her graduating class. After graduation, she met and married Cecil C. Rounds on September 28, 1945. She moved to Aledo, Oklahoma and was delighted to tell everyone that she had the same address for 80 years. Cecil and Imogene had a wonderful relationship sharing laughter and love. After nine years of marriage, they added to their family on August 19, 1954 when they had identical twin daughters, Karla Deanne and Marla Jeanne. As the girls were born prematurely, Marla lived only 24 hours and then preceded Imogene in moving to her home in heaven.

She and Cecil were married for 37 years until he passed away at home with her by side after a lengthy struggle with cancer. She lived on the farm by herself for the next 22 years after Cecil's death. During which time she continued the farming and ranching business she and Cecil had built and continued to do so independently until a few years ago when health forced her to move to town. After she and Cecil were married, she taught school in a one room school house and worked at the Aledo General Store for a short period of time. After she had Karla, she returned to homemaking and to being a full time mother and she was good at it. Imogene excelled at anything she decided to do. She would often say, "If it isn't worth doing right it isn't worth doing at all." She was an accomplished oil painting artist, winning many awards among which were having her oil painting chosen to be on the cover of the Dobson Telephone Company directory. She had many special gifts including; cake decorating, china painting, drawing, pastels, quilting, crocheting and sewing. She saved dimes in a jar to buy her first sewing machine and she made all of Karla's clothes. Imogene also loved sharing her gifts and everything she did….., she did to a perfection. She avidly loved gardening and loved flowers. She worked in her yard until she entered the hospital 3 days before her death. She had many, many talents but what delighted her most was being a mother and grandmother. Imogene loved Karla and her husband Lionel Forbert, but the joys of her life were her 2 grandsons, Lincoln Ross Leatherman born in 1977 and John Weston Leatherman born in 1981. She considered them gifts from God and proceeded to care for them, love them, and teach them to put God first in their lives. Imogene always told them that they could do anything they decided to do if they would just work at doing it and never quit!!!

Imogene didn't limit her teaching and encouragement to her family. She taught Sunday School and attended Rhea Baptist Church and the First Baptist Church in Leedey all of her life. She strongly felt the need to serve God and be a living example of love and compassion. She was an active advocate for sharing Gods love and the gifts God gave her. In addition to contributing to the Turley Boys Home and Baptist Boys Ranch, Cecil and Imogene established two fully funded scholarship programs at two Oklahoma Universities; The Cecil and Imogene Rounds Scholarship at Southwestern Oklahoma State University to benefit and provide tuition and books for young men from the Baptist Boys Home and the Cecil and Imogene Rounds Scholarship program at Oklahoma Baptist University.

She lived what she believed, she loved God, she loved her family and she shared that love with everyone she encountered. She will always be missed, but never forgotten! Her love lives on in those she touched.

Preceding Imogene in death were her parents, her loving husband, Cecil, and her beloved daughter, Marla. By five brothers: Alvin, Nolan, Otha, Dale and Ledon.

Imogene is survived by her daughter Karla Forbert and husband Lionel; her grandsons Lincoln Ross Leatherman and wife Amber, and John Weston Leatherman; sister Christine Broadbent; many nieces, nephews, other family and by a host of friends.

Services will be held at the First Baptist Church in Leedey, Oklahoma @ 2:00 p.m. with burial following at Center Point Cemetery. Arrangements are under the direction of Shaw Funeral Home of Leedey. Condolences may be made at shawfuneralhome.net.