“Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you … For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me … Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:34-36, 40 Those who have had the privilege to know Della Goff Hathorn will recognize her as a person who embodies this scripture passage. Della’s legacy will be one of charity and service, having dedicated herself to helping those she has encountered over a century of years. Many loved ones, family members and friends, attended a recent birthday celebration at Mount Olive Friendship Baptist Church to honor Della on the occasion of her 107th birthday on January 30, 2025. There are five generations of Hathorns, and Della is mother to Barbara (deceased), Linda, Chester, Lorenzo, Matthis, Howard Jr, and June (deceased), and she is grandmother to three generations of numerous beautiful grandchildren.
Della was born in rural Fallis, Oklahoma, and was raised in Meridian, where she attended school through the 6th grade. Della’s daughter Linda Hathorn Hopkins shared that Della learned early in childhood to perform works of charity. At the young age of three, Della worked with her mother to care for an ailing woman, being tasked with warming up the soup to serve with bread and water. Della grew up with five siblings, four sisters and a brother, all raised in the church. As a child, Della passed out the paper fans before church service and took up the church offering every Sunday.
Della was happily married to her husband Howard Hathorn for 75 years until his passing in 2010. During World War II, Howard worked for the railroads to help with the war effort. He was well known for his steady hand and craftsmanship in hand-engraving monument headstones for local and area cemeteries. At the age of 90, his hand was still strong and steady to accurately cut into marble and stone.
Della completed her high school education at Faver High School in Guthrie in the 1980’s. Many community members can thank Della for her important civic contributions while employed by VISTA “Volunteers In Service To America.” Through this organization, residents on the south side of Guthrie received much-needed paved roads, indoor plumbing, and electricity. Prior to having paved roads, daughter Linda remembers “spraying water on the red dirt and rocks on laundry day, because otherwise, the wind would blow the red dirt onto the clean clothes hanging on the line!”
Della was known to welcome “down-on-theirluck” strangers into the family home, when they needed some care, a meal, or a place to stay overnight. Linda remembers that local police would bring needy individuals to their door, assured that Della would offer help. Linda says “my mom was a mother to everybody! Nothing she did was for her own gratification – it was always for others.”
Della also performed the cooking, cleaning, and bed-making for the Masonic Lodge during their session meetings; she served as the head cook for several cafés in Guthrie and Edmond; and she was a private caregiver to many families, helping to raise their children, cook their meals, and clean their homes. Linda recalls, “mom was at work all the time, day and night, and instilled in her children a strong work ethic. Her main thing was ‘learn to work!’” Della ensured that her children, nieces, and nephews “learned to work” by having jobs in the restaurants where she was employed. According to Linda, Della “admired Mr. Witherspoon who had his own shoe shine parlor near the Guthrie train depot. He had a blackowned business, and this was something she wanted for her children.”
As a farmer’s daughter, Della enjoyed quilting, canning, and gardening. When not busy with work and family life, she happily shared her talents with the Guthrie 4-H Club as a volunteer.
Until recently, Della lived independently in her own home, with the help of family members serving as full-time caregivers. In April 2024, Della moved to Willow Creek Health Care, a Guthrie long-term care facility, where she lives close to home near her sons and other family members, and receives excellent care. Linda notes “mom may forget the day of the week, but she never forgets her God.”