Lillian Esther Ham, 81, of Stillwater, Okla. died Tuesday, July 17, 2007, in Stillwater, Okla. Funeral services were held at 10 a.m. Friday, July 20, 2007 at Sunnybrook Christian Church with Mr. Paul Anderson officiating. Interment was held in Sunset Memorial Gardens, Stillwater, Okla. Strode Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

Ham was born August 7, 1925 in Sand Springs, Okla. to Joseph Norman Jones, Sr. and Ada Leona (Slater) Jones. She attended grade school at Medio, which was later called James Whitcomb Riley, and Roosevelt Junior High School. When she was in seventh grade, Ham moved with her family to the small community of Mingo and attended school there until the tenth grade. In 1942, she graduated from Will Rogers High School in Tulsa, Okla. After graduation she worked for Kresses Dime Store and Spartan Aircraft.

She married Wendell E. Bastemeyer, Sr. in September 1943 and moved to South Dakota. They later divorced. In 1967, she moved to Stillwater and married David Tarkington in 1968. He preceded her in death in1979. On August 2, 1986 she married Jimmie T. Ham in Stillwater, Okla. He preceded her in death on May 10, 2004.

Ham worked at Oklahoma State University for 20 years retiring in 1986.

She was preceded in death by her parents; two husbands, David Tarkington; Jimmie T. Ham; two brothers, Joe Jones, who was killed in a 1948 car accident; Bob Jones; an infant daughter, Sheryl; one sister, Nadine Cline; and one daughter, Kerry Andrews.

She is survived by three sons, Wendell E. Bastemeyer, Jr. of Stillwater, Okla.; Ken Bastemeyer of Oklahoma City, Okla.; Bob Bastemeyer and his wife, Judy, of Tulsa, Okla.; one daughter, Wanda Baker of Stillwater, Okla.; nine grandchildren, Kathryn Penland of Arlington, Texas; Michael Bastemeyer of Stillwater, Okla.; Amanda Jo Schaubroeck of Muncie, Ind.; Kelly Branigan of Kansas City, Kan.; Christopher Bastemeyer of Stillwater, Okla.; Bryson Baker of Stillwater, Okla.; Garrett Baker, U.S. Marine Corps, Twentynine Palms, Calif.; Robert Bastemeyer of Tulsa, Okla.; one sister, Dorothy Burrus and her husband, Hershel, of Dallas, Texas; she is also survived by several nieces and nephews including, Raymond Burrus of Tulsa, Okla.; JoBeth Cooper of Anaheim, Calif.; Brad Jones of Long Beach, Calif.; and Rich Jones of Amarillo, Texas.

Condolences may be e-mailed and an online obituary may be viewed by visiting www.strodefh.com.