Nita JoAnn Ports
October 4, 1940 — April 11, 2026
Nita JoAnn Ports, age 85, beloved mother, grandmother, sister and aunt passed away April 11, 2026. JoAnn was born October 4th, 1940, in Mulhall, Oklahoma to Eivy and Peggy Craighead Carson. She grew up in Ponca City with her older siblings, Adaline, Forrest and Della. She married her high school sweetheart Bobby Meadows and they had three daughters: Peggy, Kim, and Becky. JoAnn later married Richard Ports and they had a daughter, Jody.
JoAnn enjoyed reading, listening to country music, history, spending time with her friends and loved ones, and she loved Elvis and anything Western. She loved to write in her journal and read her Bible, and she never missed a birthday, as she had all of her loved ones’ birthdays memorized by heart. She especially loved going to thrift stores and garage sales, looking to add to her collection of treasures.
She is preceded in death by her parents, brother and sister-in-law Forrest and Elwanda Carson, sister and brother-in-law Adaline and Dwight Porter, husbands Bobby Meadows and Richard Ports, grandsons Buddy McCoy Jr. and Joseph Bryer, son-in-law Cliff Copple, brother-in-law Jack Rein. stepson Jackie Ports, stepdaughter Gaye Riley, step-son-in-law Bob Alexander.
She is survived by her daughters Peggy Copple, Kim Meadows, Becky and her husband Buddy McCoy, Jody and her husband Stephen Chamberlain, stepdaughter Donna Alexander, sister Della Rein, grandchildren Bobby Rein, Phillip Weber, Melissa Wilson, Angie Osborne, Davina Smith, Anna Bryer, Alex Meadows, Reagan Thorp, Rylee Chamberlain, Ryan Chamberlain, 21 great-grandchildren, six great-great grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.
Viewing will be held Thursday, April 16, 2026, from 3pm to 7pm, at Grace Memorial Chapel, the family will be present from 5pm to 7pm to receive guests. Funeral services will be held Friday, April 17, 2026, at 2pm at the First Lutheran Church in Ponca City, Oklahoma, with Pastor Joseph Highley officiating. Interment will follow at Resthaven Memorial Park Cemetery. Pallbearers are Bobby Rein, Phillip Weber, Alex Meadows, Ryan Chamberlain, Trenton Wilson, and Elijah Cowan.
