Christine Louise West's Obituary
Christine West Obituary
Christine Louise (Garst) West, 50, died at her home in Bixby, Oklahoma on June 3, 2021, surrounded by her family. She was born August 26, 1970 to Gail D. and Connie C. (Rotz) Garst at Tuttle Army Hospital in Savannah, Georgia. Following military service, her parents moved to Fort Collins, Colorado to complete their education and then to Stillwater, Oklahoma in 1974 for employment. Christine attended Stillwater public schools graduating in 1988 and then attended Oklahoma State University graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education in 1992. She met and married the love of her life, Adam Brent West, in Stillwater on July 7, 1990. The couple made their home in Bixby, Oklahoma where she taught fourth grade in the Bixby Public Schools for 17 years.
Christine is survived by her husband, Adam, of the home, daughter, Kalee L. and her husband, Luke St. Romain of Bixby, son, Brent A. West of Overland Park, Kansas, and son, Austin D. West, daughter, Leslee R. West, and son, Luke A. West of the home. She is also survived by her parents, Gail and Connie Garst of Stillwater, and twin brother, Ronald and his wife, Toma Lynn (Arthur) Garst of Woodland Park, Colorado. Christine has five grandchildren, Paislee, Braden, Daxton, Jacob, and Cooper St. Romain. She is survived by her mother-in-law, Leonda (Davis) Shields and her husband, Roger of Stuart, and by her father-in-law, Ronald West and his wife, Becky of Tulsa. She is survived by her brother-in-law, Eric West and his wife, Pam, and by her sister-in-law, Natalie West and her husband, Danny all of Stuart. She is also survived by many uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Christine deeply loved God and all of her family. She was an active member of Life Church South Tulsa and died in faith of the resurrection of Jesus her savior. She always said her goal was to live a life which honored God and all of her family. Christine did that without a doubt as she lived a life full of integrity and love. She wanted to hear from God at the end of her life, “Well done my good and faithful servant.” There is no doubt she heard those words from God as she was welcomed into the arms of Jesus.
Her family was absolutely the most important thing in her life after God. She was a stay at home Mom with her kids until the youngest started kindergarten and then was able to get a teaching job at the same school they attended. She loved her five children dearly and expressed how proud she was of each of them. It is through them that she will continue living in this world. In her final days she told her children that she has taught them everything she can for them to be good people and to follow God. She told them that she is in their head and they would never have any problem knowing exactly what her advice would be on any situation because she spent so much time with them and provided her wisdom and love. She was also a dedicated and loving wife to her husband. They love each other more today than the day they married. Christine joked with Adam not to start telling people she was a perfect wife because she knew she was not a perfect person, but she was the most dedicated, committed and loving partner a husband could ever hope to have.
Another passion in her life were her pets. She loved her horses, dogs and her parrot most of all. She also had chickens, cats, fish, snakes and rabbits. Christine and her husband also took up beekeeping as a hobby which she enjoyed immensely. She joked that this way she could have tens of thousands of pets to care for.
Christine also enjoyed collecting Coca-Cola memorabilia. Her home was decorated with items such as signs, lights, coke machines, coke airplanes and a variety of other coke advertising memorabilia. She enjoyed going shopping and hunting for new Coca-Cola items and other antiques.
Christine loved being a fourth grade teacher. She always thought it was the perfect grade to teach since they were old enough to wipe their own nose and tie their own shoes, but they had not yet developed a smart mouth. At that age, they still liked their teacher and thought teachers were cool. She wanted to help all of her students and she poured her life into them just like she did her own kids. Her work was important, and she took it seriously. She loved her students and the teachers she worked with for many years. Her fellow teachers were her very best friends and always provided her support.
An Avid gardener, Christine liked to grow plants which were good for the honeybees, butterflies and hummingbirds. She wanted to increase the milkweed in the pasture for the butterflies, much to the chagrin of her husband who wanted to improve the grass for the horses. As you might expect, she usually got her way.
There is so much more to this wonderful woman. She will be missed immensely, and the hole in our hearts will never be filled, but she would encourage all of us to go on with our lives and to bring joy to our homes again and to those around us. She will never be forgotten.
A Memorial Service celebrating her life will be 3:30 pm Sunday, June 13, 2021 at Life Church South Tulsa, 7071 E. 121st Street, Bixby, OK 74008.
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