Wanda Passmore

Wanda Lee Passmore, 86, passed away on August 15, 2024, at her home in Pampa.

Graveside services will be 2:00 PM, Tuesday, August 20, 2024, at the Memory Gardens Mausoleum, with John Curry, officiating. She will be entombed in the Memory Gardens Mausoleum with her late husband, under the direction of Carmichael-Whatley Funeral Directors and Crematory.

The family will receive guests from 5:00 – 6:30 PM Monday, August 19, 2024, at the funeral home. 

Wanda was born November 10, 1937, in Pampa, to Luna and Jewell Guthrie, the youngest of six children. She was the only one of her siblings to be born in a hospital. Wanda grew up on a farm south of Pampa, learning how to live off the soil, something which contributed to her plucky nature as the youngest child.

She graduated from Pampa High School in 1956. In Pampa, she met William Passmore, and they were married on November 11, 1958, and were married for almost 50 years.

A year following their marriage, they moved to California, where they spent most of their years in Fresno, raising their son and starting a business there. Wanda worked as a personal assistant for Producers Dairy, the Restaurant Association and the Grape and Tree Fruit League while in Fresno.

In 1991, Wanda and Bill decided to return to Pampa, where she lived for the remainder of her years. She was active in organizing many of the class reunions which took place upon her return home. Wanda was a member of Pampa’s First Presbyterian Church.

Wanda enjoyed cooking and coming up with new recipes which friends constantly were copying. While in California, she and Bill became known for their tradition of entertaining guests on New Year’s Day to start the year off in a festive manner. Her black-eyed peas were a hit with her West Coast friends.

In recent years, despite her health travails, Wanda’s good humor and attitude endeared her to the many health care professionals who worked with her.

The family wishes to extend a special thanks to Interim Health Care Hospice of Pampa for their care.

Survivors include son, Lee of Pampa; nieces, Vivian Linxwiler of Maricopa, Arizona, and Carol Nelson of Dinuba, California.; nephews, Tom McCracken of Vian, Oklahoma, and Barry Winborne of Grand Prairie; and many great nieces and nephews. Wanda was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; sisters, Yvonne, Marie and Josephine; and brothers, Art McCracken and Merle McCracken.