Dorene Watan

Dorene Watan, 75, a resident of Weatherford, Oklahoma, passed away on Saturday, July 27, 2024, at Weatherford Hospital. A funeral service will be held at 12:00 P.M. on Saturday, August 3, 2024, at the Clinton Emergency Resource Center, with Sophia BigGoose officiating. Arrangements are under the direction of Lee Hometown Funeral Home. Burial will follow at Colony Indian Cemetery. A traditional all-night wake will be held on Friday, August 2, starting at 7:00 P.M.

Dorene was born Dorene Walter on November 26, 1948, to Charley and Doris (Hill) Walter at Clinton, in the former IHS Hospital. She grew up in the Fonda-Seiling area and attended Seiling High School. As a young woman, she worked at the Shamrock Café.

Dorene married Max Watan Jr. on November 7, 1967, in Taloga, Oklahoma. Max courted her on his motorcycle, and she fondly remarked that he resembled Elvis Presley. Shortly after their marriage, Max was deployed to Vietnam. During his service, Dorene became the youngest member of the Fonda War Mothers Association and joined the Rusty Needle, a group dedicated to sewing for women and children in the community. She was also an active member of the Ceremonial Earth Women, the New Life Lodge, the Clinton Service Club, and A.I.M.

Upon Max’s return from Vietnam, the couple moved to Colony, where they resided until 1978. Max’s evangelistic work took them across the U.S. and Canada before they settled in Washington, where Max pastored at the Garden of Prayer Chapel and Dorene was known as the “First Lady” of the congregation. Later, they returned to Weatherford, making southwestern Oklahoma their home once again, while raising 3 grandchildren Tu Sheena, Kelsy, and Lydia.

Dorene was renowned for her culinary skills, particularly her fry bread, and was a master organizer. She enjoyed playing dominoes, solving crossword puzzles, singing Cheyenne Gospel Hymns, and was fluent in the Cheyenne language. Dorene also had a passion for pro wrestling and football and was a notable pitcher on a traveling softball team (Indian Ball) as it was called. In the Cheyenne culture, she has the right and conducted the hair cutting ceremony for a lot of her Cheyenne people.

She shared a special bond with her granddaughter, Lydia Watan, and was loved and cherished by so many people, that she touched during her life.

Dorene was preceded in death by her parents, Charley and Doris Walter; her husband, Max Watan Jr.; a daughter, Capacine Watan; her sisters, Phyllis Biglefthand and Wanda WhiteBuffalo; her brothers, Johnny Lee Walter; and two grandsons, Christopher Sage and SingingBird Watan.

She is survived by her sons, Max Watan III, Michael Watan, and Ruben Watan; her daughters, Chereesa Watan, Aprill Watan, and Tu Sheena Watan; her sisters, Linda Daniels and Barbara Sankey; 21 grandchildren; and 20 great-grandchildren, she also adopted Julia Tartsah, Jissena Fulsom, Angie Littleman, Daniel Baker, and Terry Battiest (she took the adoption very seriously), also her adopted aunts Sara, Bernice, and Belva Naranjo

Dorene’s legacy will be cherished by her family and the many lives she touched through her unwavering faith, vibrant spirit, and dedication to her community.