Nevina Marie was born May 18, 1929, in Guthrie, Oklahoma, to Leford and Florence Stevenson. She had a praying mother, so therefore, she came to know the Lord very early in life.

As a young girl, the family moved to Tipton, Oklahoma. She went on to meet and marry James A. O'Neal. She and her husband moved to Duncan, Oklahoma where they started a life together. Their union was blessed with nine children who were her pride and joy.

Later in life, Nevina moved to Grand Prairie, Texas where she met and married Robert L. Franklin. Robert became a pastor in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church making her the First Lady. She worked faithfully with the Pastors' wives of the Church, always traveling with her husband and doing the work of the Lord that was assigned to her. Her active faith and love of God sustained her throughout her life.

Nevina's love for her family was paramount. She was a caring wife and a devoted mother, grandmother and great grandmother. She was a domestic worker, an amazing mother and a loving grandmother who loved to cook. She was a great cook and always fed not only her family, but friends andCanyone that stopped by their home. It was one of her favorite pastimes which became a profession for her.

She was a beautiful woman of God with a beautiful, nurturing spirit who was loved by her family and all that came to know her. She possessed wisdom, guidance, and quiet strength. She embodied love and patience in their truest forms – graceful, dignified and endlessly compassionate. She will be deeply missed.

Our beloved matriarch, Nevina Marie Franklin (MawMaw), passed away peacefully on January 5, 2026, at the age of 96. She was preceded in
death by her husband, Reverend Robert L. Franklin; three sons, Willie L. O'Neal, David O'Neal, and Harold O'Neal, Sr.; one sister, Pauline Johnson; and two brothers, L.C. Stevenson and Robert Jackson, Jr.

Nevina's legacy will continue through the lives of her daughters, Shirley Baker, Gloria O'Neal, Hedy Dibble (Lugene), Kathy Washington; sons,
James A. O'Neal, Jr. and Ike L. O'Neal (Mary); daughter in law, Helen O'Neal; sisters in law, Eva Stevenson and Jimmie Mitchell; 26 grandchildren; 43 great grandchildren, 43 great-great grandchildren; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.