Martha Lou Scales

Martha Lou Scales, 83, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, passed away peacefully on May 16, 2026, while under the compassionate care of hospice, surrounded by her loving family.

Born January 21, 1943 in Kansas City, Kansas, Martha was the daughter of Helen Scales Cox and John Dillard Cox of Grove, Oklahoma. She attended a one-room school during World War II as the only child in her class. After the war, the family moved back to Grove, Oklahoma. Martha graduated from Grove Public Schools with honors in 1961. She completed a Bachelor of Science Degree in Sociology with honors in 1965 at Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, Oklahoma, and a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 1973.

Ms. Scales began her social work career as a mental health social worker with the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. She was recruited by the Child Welfare Administrator in Tulsa to work for the Department of Human Services, Child Welfare, beginning a distinguished career spanning from 1971 to 2001. During her Child Welfare career she served in several key administrative roles.

After retirement from OKDHS Child Welfare in 2001, Ms. Scales became the Director of the Child Welfare Professional Enhancement Program (CWPEP) at the University of Oklahoma Anne and Henry Zarrow School of Social Work until 2008 when she moved to part time. In this position she coordinated with all the state universities’ schools of social work to create a systematic effort to recruit and support social work students for the field of public child welfare services.

Martha’s hero was her mother, who was always the sustaining and strong one for the family. After her divorce, Martha took her mother’s maiden name of Scales to honor her legacy. She is to be buried next to her mother in the Scales family cemetery in Colcord, Oklahoma.

Martha is survived by her beloved daughter, Stephanie, and son-in-law, Greg Horne; her two cherished grandchildren, Harrison Horne and Katherine Gilchrist and her husband Sam; her sister, Sue Beth Hale; and her nephew, John Chandler Hale.

A memorial service to celebrate her life will be held 9:30 am Friday, May 22, 2026 in the Kerr Chapel at First Presbyterian Church in downtown Tulsa. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Martha’s memory to the University of Oklahoma Anne and Henry Zarrow School of Social Work, a child welfare organization, or The Demand Project.