Anna Wockmetooah Tahmahkera

Anna Wockmetooah Tahmahkera went to her heavenly home on Sunday May 22, 2022.

Funeral service will be 10 a.m., Thursday May 26, 2022 at Watchetaker Hall at the Comanche Nation Complex with Pastor Patrick McClung officiating. Burial will follow at Cache KCA Cemetery under the direction of Comanche Nation Funeral Home. Prayer service will be 7 p.m., Wednesday May 25, 2022 at Watchetaker Hall.

Anna Wockmetooah Tahmahkera was born Jan. 29,1918 to Judd Komah Wockmetooah and Edith Kewenoah. She was a Chief Wildhorse descendant. Anna was born on her father's allotment land in the vicinity of Pumpkin Center, in Comanche County. At the age of four, Anna's mother passed away and her father married To-pay who was a widow of Quanah Parker. To-pay was a major influence in her life. To-pay would teach her about her Comanche culture, traditions and about Chief Quanah Parker.

At the age of seven, Anna was granted citizenship to the United States under the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924. At the age of 26, she was finally granted the right to vote. Anna attended Fort Sill Indian School until she married her husband of 68 years, Vance Tahmahkera. They were married in Frederick, on June 22, 1934.

During WWII, Vance joined the Navy, he was assigned to the 73rd Seabees where he partook in the Island-Hopping Campaigns. During that time Anna relocated to Riverside, California, with other Comanche women. They found employment in the shipyards. Anna became a certified welder where she helped assemble PT boats that contributed to the war effort.

After WWII, Anna relocated to Fort Worth, Texas. She pursued a career in nursing. She obtained her LPN certification and was authorized to practice in Texas and Oklahoma. She was authorized to be a surgical nurse where she worked for 17 years at Cook's Children's Hospital, Fort Worth, Texas. In 1970 Vance and Anna both retired and returned to Cache, where they made their home. Anna was called out of retirement by the Comanche Nation Chairman Roe Kahrahrah in that same year she was appointed as Director of the Comanche Nation Community Health Representative (CHR) program. The CHR's were tasked with providing health care assistance to the Comanche population within the counties of Comanche jurisdiction. She held this position for 10 years until deferring to retirement.

Anna was a Comanche historian; many people sought her knowledge. She was a fluent speaker of the Comanche language. She enjoyed beading as a pastime. She beaded name plates and belts. She beaded a belt for the late President George H.W. Bush. She received many accolades from local, statewide politicians and organizations. She was a proud member of the Comanche Indian Veterans Association Auxiliary and the Comanche Little Ponies Auxiliary. She was a member of Pete Coffee Mennonite Brethren Church in Cache, and enjoyed spending time with friends and family.

Anna was preceded in death by her parents Judd Komah Wockmetooah and Edith Kewenoah; her sister Josephine Wockmetooah, her brother Roy Wockmetooah, and sister Margaret Wockmetooah, her husband of 68 years, Vance Tahmahkera, and her son, Benny Tahmahkera Sr.

She is survived by her grandson, Benny Tahmahkera Jr.; granddaughter, Cynthia Ann Tahmahkera- Stevens and husband Lt. Col. Andrew Stevens M.D.; great-grandchildren: Joshua Tahmahkera, Marianna Tahmahkera, Nievy Tahmahkera, Vance Tahmahkera, Judd Tahmahkera, LeeLee Tahmahkera, Pierce Stevens, Parker Ann Stevens, Derrick Stevens , Quin Stevens, and her daughter-in-law, Toni Tahmahkera Seyfarth and many nieces, nephews and friends across the United States. She was a grandmother to the entire Comanche Nation.