Jeannie Ann (Parker) Toppah

Jeannie Ann (Parker) Toppah was born on February 14, 1947. She departed this world surrounded by all her children on June 10, 2025. 
Jeannie was born on the Navajo reservation at Antelope Canyon, near Crownpoint, New Mexico. She was born for the Ta’neeszahnii clan (“Tangle People”). Jeannie and her brother, Tommy, were raised by their grandparents, Robert and Mary Perry, near the Becenti Chapter House. She graduated from Gallup High School in 1965. 
Jeannie had a drive for higher education which led to her coming to Oklahoma to attend Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU). It was while in Oklahoma that she met and married the love of her life, D.K. Toppah. They were married at Botone Memorial Church on March 4, 1978. From their loving marriage came three children, Janaye, Cheevers, and Hyde, that they raised in Weatherford, OK. 
Jeannie was a highly educated woman. She obtained both a Bachelor of Science and a Master’s in Education from SWOSU. She continued on her educational path by receiving a second Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Oklahoma. She also attended the University of California, Los Angeles, where she completed the Head Start – Johnson & Johnson Management Fellows Program. 
Along with her love for education, Jeannie also held a passion for serving Native children. She dedicated a majority of her career to working with the early learning program, Head Start. She had over 30 years of total service to the Head Start Program and touched the lives of hundreds of children. She was even appointed to the National Head Start Review Board out of Washington, D.C. for several years. She retired as the Head Start director for the Kiowa Tribe, where she had worked for over 20 years. She always remembered all her “kids” and loved to visit with them as they grew up.  
She is preceded in death by her husband, D.K. Toppah; grandparents, Robert and Mary Perry; mother, Nellie P. Chavez; father, Thomas Parker; Brothers, Melford and Melvin Chavez; and her twin sister. 
She is survived by her children, Janaye Tonegyaday Toppah of Weatherford, Oklahoma; Perry Cheevers Toppah and companion Desba of Moore, Oklahoma; and Allen Hyde Toppah and wife JoEtta of Coweta, Oklahoma. Her grandchildren, Natanii, Nabahii, Toby, Keena, and Abigail. Siblings Tommy Etsitty and wife Virginia, Burton Chavez, Melda Brown, Marion Peshlakai, Mary Chavez, Dottie, Uncle Benny Perry, Aunt Lolita Perry, and numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews. She also had three adopted children: Penny McGilvery, Blake Wildcat, and Jackson Tahuka. 
Visitation was from 1-5 p.m., Friday, June 13, at Ray & Martha's Funeral Home in Carnegie, Oklahoma. A Wake was held at 7 p.m., Friday, June 13, at Botone Memorial United Methodist Church in Carnegie.
Funeral services were held at 10 a.m., Saturday, June 14, 2025, at Botone Memorial United Methodist Church in Carnegie.
Interment was in the Cedar Creek Cemetery in Carnegie.