Marian Elvora Cline

Marian Elvora Cline
February 5, 1933 – November 9, 2025

Marian Elvora (Wagner) Cline of Covington, Oklahoma, was born on February 5, 1933, to William F. and Helen Wagner. At the age of 92, Marian passed peacefully from this life at her home in Covington on November 9, 2025.

Marian grew up on the family farm northwest of Covington where she slept in a chest of drawers as an infant. At a young age, after her mother suffered a stroke, she took on the responsibility of running the household and caring for her three younger siblings. From then on, she never stopped cooking for the farm and preparing bountiful harvest and holiday meals for family and friends.

On November 23, 1950, Marian married her lifelong partner and soulmate, Boyd Cline. Together in heaven, they will celebrate their 75th wedding anniversary. To this union, four sons were born: Gary, Randy, Kerry, and Ross. Boyd and Marian were both proud graduates of Covington High School, as were their four sons and numerous grandchildren.

Boyd and Marian built their lives around family, faith, and farming in the Covington area. They were honored by the Oklahoma Farm Bureau as the Farm and Ranch Family of the Year—a fitting title for a family who truly embodied that spirit.

Marian was known for her generosity and her unmatched cooking. She packed countless lunches over the years—pimento cheese or PB&J were a must—and only one pop a day, with a mug of unsweet tea on ice. Her kitchen was always alive with good food and good company. She was eager to teach her cooking skills to anyone willing to spend time by her side. There was always a pot of soup on the stove, a batch of cinnamon rolls rising, or homemade bread cooling on the counter. She had her own wisdom about food: “Moldy cheese and bread are fine—just cut off the mold, it won’t kill you!” “Leftovers are fine as long as you reheat them every three days—then just add them to the pot of soup!” “Don’t throw out the cottage cheese just use it to make dilly bread!” “Ham salad AKA cow tongue.” Nothing went to waste in Marian’s kitchen.

Marian also spent time working in a doctor’s office in Perry and Garber, and was active in countless community projects — especially the Lions Club bake sales. She was a devoted member of the Covington Lions Club, an avid supporter of the Covington Wildcats not just Covington but any schools and activities the grandkids were involved in.

Marian and Boyd were longstanding members of the Covington Christian Church, where they played an integral role when the church closed its doors, helping to transfer the building to the Covington First Baptist Church to be used for children’s ministry. Though it was difficult to close that chapter, they found peace in knowing that ministry would continue within those walls.

She was a woman of many talents and simple joys: she enjoyed gardening, quilting, sewing clothes, reading multiple books at once, snow skiing, pulling taffy, square dancing in Lucien for nearly 50 years, and her morning Bible studies. She loved “Walker, Texas Ranger,” playing cards, and opening their home to foster kids, foreign exchange students, friends, and grandkids sharing their love and hospitality across generations and cultures. Marian also drove a school bus, paid the bills, and managed the household with a balance of practicality and humor.

While Boyd was known for the wheat he grew, it couldn’t hold a candle to the garden Marian tended by hand— with a little “encouraged child labor” along the way. She had her own special techniques that she passed along to the next generation: stomping onions to grow wide, double-rowing green beans for support, and picking beans early to beat the heat and snapping them later in the A/C, and plant radishes, spinach, and lettuce as soon as the soil is workable because “they’re hardy and can take the cold.” She could grow and canned nearly anything—except peas.

Marian was preceded in death by her husband, Boyd Cline; her parents, William and Helen Wagner; her brother, Roy Wagner; her sister, Wilma Blood; and her sister-in-law, Barbara Carter.

She is survived by her brother Earle Wagner and his wife Margaret of Oklahoma City; sisters-in-law Shirllene Pursley and Beverly Kegin of Crescent, Oklahoma; her four sons, Gary Cline (her devoted caregiver), Randy Cline and wife Carolyn of rural Marshall, Kerry Cline and wife Linda of Perry, and Ross Cline and wife Christy of Blackwell. She also leaves behind 13 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great-grandchild, numerous nieces, nephews and friends—each a testament to the legacy of love and family she built.

Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, November 14, 2025, at the First Baptist Church in Covington, with her grandson-in-law, Pastor Kurtis Stoll, officiating. Burial will follow at the Covington Cemetery under the kind guidance of Amy Stittsworth Funeral Service and Cremation Directors.

The family requests that memorial donations be made to Kids Quest at First Baptist Church of Covington.

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