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Dr. Delilah Calfy Joiner Martin (center) received a Certificate of Recognition from the Oklahoma House of Representatives for being selected as 2024 Oklahoma Mother of the Year. American Mothers representatives Marilyn Stark and Tammy West were on hand for the presentation. -
High school friends, Judy Rash Gruner, Jana Philpott Lipscomb, Julie Zisman Williams and many other friends and colleagues were on hand when Delilah Calfy Joiner Martin (second from right) was honored at the Oklahoma State Capitol as 2024 Oklahoma Mother of the Year.
Walters native, Delilah Calfy Joiner Martin, received a Citation of Recognition at the Oklahoma State Capitol on March 26 for her selection as the American Mothers Oklahoma Mother of the Year. She will be recognized at the American Mothers National Convention later in April in Omaha, Nebraska where she will be considered for the 2024 National Mother of the Year. Delilah is the daughter of the late Frank and Norma Calfy.
Mother of the Year recipients are selected based on work, resilience, and commitment to family and community. Nominees were chosen through a national nomination and selection process led by American Mothers, which has been honored to search for and select the Mother of the Year in every state, district, and territory in the country since 1935.
Here is her profile from AmericanMothers.org: “Delilah grew up in a loving, hardworking family, in an Oklahoma small town surrounded by faith, laughter, and fun. She is a first-generation high school and college graduate and went on to earn a master’s and a Doctorate. She is the mother of three, including two daughters and one son, and is the MiMi of three grandchildren. She is a Professor, Family Studies and Gerontology Program Director, and Prior Learning Assessment Director at Southern Nazarene University, Professional joys include investing in students, volunteering, engaging with organizations like VillagesOKC, serving with the Christian Adult Higher Education Association (CAHEA) council, and public speaking. In 2014, her world was forever altered with the devastating unexpected death of her daughter, Kaytie, just 2 ½ weeks prior to her wedding. This grief journey provided a myriad of opportunities to love mothers who have experienced catastrophic loss and to celebrate the gift of her child’s life.”