Isabel Melton

Isabel Melton, 87, passed away on August 3, 2024. She was born on October 31, 1936, in Visalia, California, to Marion and Lois (Qualls) Phillips. Isabel was raised in the rural town of Farmersville, where she attended school at Outside Creek in Exeter. She began her working career alongside her family in their fruit-picking and hauling company. It was through this work that she met J.B. Melton, a young man from Oklahoma.They began dating and married in November of 1954. Over the next several years Isabel continued working in the family business. 

In 1969, Isabel and her family moved to Oklahoma, settling first in Tulsa for about a year before moving to Claremore. Once in Claremore, she began working for Montgomery Ward before earning her cosmetology license. With her newfound skills, she opened her own salon called Ma Belles Hair Design. Remarkably, she balanced her career while working on her GED, which she completed in 1987.

Isabel had a rich and varied life filled with numerous hobbies and pastimes. For years, she and J.B. were part of a Gospel Quartet, singing in many places and even hosting a radio show while in California. She also enjoyed collecting baseball cards and was an avid fan of the Texas Rangers and the St. Louis Cardinals. In her later years, she became part of a women's group that made bags, purses, and blankets for people getting out of prison. However, once her grandchildren arrived, they became her main focus and joy.

Isabel was preceded in death by her parents, Marion and Lois Phillips; her husband, J.B. Melton; and her sister, Vera Powell. 

She is survived by her daughters, Debi Taber and husband Loyd, and Vicki Adelman and husband James; grandchildren Jessica Adelman, Beckett Adelman and husband Otto, and Lonnie Taber and wife Kristin; great-grandchildren Layla and Molly; brother, Lloyd Phillips; and sisters, Mary Nicholson, Lois Mayfield, Barbara Breshears, and Bonnie Merriott.

The family wishes to extend a special thank you to the ladies of The Courtyards of Claremore and the caring staff of Good Shepherd Hospice. 

View and sign Isabel's online memorial at www.mmsfuneralhomes.com.