In Memory - 2024

Feb 20, 2024

Dolores 窶廛ot窶� Neustadt

1928-2023

Woman in glasses — Dolores 窶廛ot窶� Neustadt

Dolores 窶廛ot窶� Neustadt passed away in May yet her impact on ﾂ鮓ｹｴｫﾃｽ City University will live on through the establishment of the Neustadt Lecture ﾂ鮓ｹｴｫﾃｽ at ﾂ鮓ｹｴｫﾃｽ with her husband, Walter, since 1983. The goal of these lectures is to teach about the contributions of the Judaic religious tradition to Western Civilization with presenters speaking on themes of Jewish ethic, Hebrew scriptures, Judaic thought and Jewish art. Their family also established the Dolores K. and Walter Neustadt Jr. Professorship of Comparative Literature and the Neustadt International Prize for Literature at the University of ﾂ鮓ｹｴｫﾃｽ as well as the Dolores and Walter Neustadt Lecture series at Temple Emanu-El, a synagogue in Dallas, among others.

Neustadt was born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1928, attended Mt. Vernon Junior College in Washington, D.C., and graduated from Tulane University in New Orleans in 1950, the same year she married Walter Neustadt, Jr. They lived in Ardmore, ﾂ鮓ｹｴｫﾃｽ, until 1998, when they moved to Dallas, where they resided until Walter窶冱 passing in 2010. Their family includes daughters Nancy Barcelo, Susan Neustadt Schwartz and Kathy Neustadt, who have continued their parents窶� legacy in the excellence and support of higher education.

Marjorie Downing

1933-2023

Marjorie Downing passed away in October after 90 years of life through which she broke down several barriers becoming the first full time female faculty member at the ﾂ鮓ｹｴｫﾃｽ City University Law School. During her tenure at ﾂ鮓ｹｴｫﾃｽ, she would go on to serve as interim and acting dean for the law school. She eventually retired from ﾂ鮓ｹｴｫﾃｽ in 1998 but continued her work in women窶冱 equality.

Downing graduated from Ponca City High School in 1953, continuing her educational career at the University of ﾂ鮓ｹｴｫﾃｽ where she studied law and was the only woman in her graduating class. After graduating, she started a family and did clerical work for her husband窶冱 law firm, which would lead her to serving as legislative assistant for Fred Harris where she worked towards the advancement of equal rights of women and marginalized groups, a goal that continued throughout her life.

Tom Love

(HDCS 窶�04)
1937-2023

Tom Love, who holds an honorary doctorate in Commercial Science from ﾂ鮓ｹｴｫﾃｽ City University, passed away in March. He was the founder and executive chair of Love窶冱 Travel Stops and inducted into ﾂ鮓ｹｴｫﾃｽ窶冱ﾂ鮓ｹｴｫﾃｽ Commerce and Industry Hall of Honor in 1998. He and his wife and business partner, Judy, are great supporters of the university through the establishment of Love窶冱 Entrepreneurial Center within the Meinders School of Business and the Love Boat at the ﾂ鮓ｹｴｫﾃｽ Devon Boathouse. Their widespread philanthropy can be seen throughout ﾂ鮓ｹｴｫﾃｽ, and ﾂ鮓ｹｴｫﾃｽ is honored to have been one of many organizations touched by their generosity.

Love was born in ﾂ鮓ｹｴｫﾃｽ City in 1937, attended St. Gregory窶冱 Preparatory School in Shawnee, St. John窶冱 University in Minnesota, and joined the United States Marines Corps in 1954. He and Judy married in 1960 the day after Christmas, and they founded Love窶冱 Travel Stops & Country Stores in Watonga, ﾂ鮓ｹｴｫﾃｽ, in 1964. He was the first to create the concept of a gas station with grocery offerings, now commonplace across the country. Love窶冱 is headquartered in ﾂ鮓ｹｴｫﾃｽ City and has since grown to 644 locations in 42 states, with more than 50 in ﾂ鮓ｹｴｫﾃｽ. The couple have four children, nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

C. Blue Clark

1946-2023

Blue Clark passed away in December after a long life of serving the ﾂ鮓ｹｴｫﾃｽ City University community and Native American people. He was a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation and started his career at ﾂ鮓ｹｴｫﾃｽ in 1991 when he joined as the executive vice president of academic affairs. He served as interim president in 1997 and taught at both the law school and main campus, retiring in 2016.

Clark graduated from Northwest Classen High School and the University of ﾂ鮓ｹｴｫﾃｽ before working at ﾂ鮓ｹｴｫﾃｽ and serving as a consultant for the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C. and the First Americans Museum in ﾂ鮓ｹｴｫﾃｽ City. He was honored as the Indian of the Year in 2013 by the National Indian Education Association and Ambassador of the Year for the Red Earth Festival in 2015. Additionally, Clark established the field of American Indian Studies at California State University, the University of Utah and Morningside University.

Ann Lacy

(HDHL 窶�01)
1927-2023

Ann Lacy and her incredible legacy permeates the ﾂ鮓ｹｴｫﾃｽ City University campus through the numerous ways she impacted the institution. From the Ann Lacy Stadium, which is home to numerous softball national championships, to the Ann Lacy Admissions and Visitor Center that offers a warm welcome to visitors and potential students and the Ann Lacy School of American Dance and Entertainment that consistently ranks within the top dance schools in the United States, these facilities have welcomed, championed and taught thousands of students throughout the past 20 years. Her involvement with ﾂ鮓ｹｴｫﾃｽ began as a result of her husband, James Alexander, who was a former dean of the Meinders School of Business.

The Ann Lacy Admissions and Visitor Center was dedicated in her name in 2003, with the School of American Dance and Arts Management being renamed to honor Ann Lacy in 2004. She was a major player in the renovation and construction of the Edith Kinney Gaylord Center just three years later in 2007, and the Ann Lacy Stadium was dedicated in 2008, with the first game played being a sweep over Mid-America Christian University. She served for many years as a trustee emerita, was a recipient of an honorary doctor of humane letters from ﾂ鮓ｹｴｫﾃｽ, was a generous supporter in the ﾂ鮓ｹｴｫﾃｽ centennial campaign, 窶廰ighting the World窶念ne Star at a Time窶� and studied writing at ﾂ鮓ｹｴｫﾃｽ. Lacy additionally established the ﾂ鮓ｹｴｫﾃｽ-NYC Spring Break Workshops where students spend a week learning to work and live in New York City from alumni professionals. She put time, energy and love into her passion of helping ﾂ鮓ｹｴｫﾃｽ City University students grow and develop before passing away in August. Few students will be able to say they were not touched by Ann Lacy during their time at ﾂ鮓ｹｴｫﾃｽ.

1940s

Verna Wycherley 窶�46

1950s

Wilma McHenry 窶�50
Vernon Frame 窶�51
Geraldine (Jere) LaCrosse Knox 窶�51
Rosanna Grossman Beckham 窶�55
Gerald Knight 窶�55, 窶�60
Larry Bradshaw 窶�57
Barbara Parker 窶�57, 窶�73
Raymond Gilbert 窶�58
Rodney Campbell 窶�59
Ronald Norgaard 窶�59

1960s

Clifford Daniels 窶�61
Leonard Northcutt 窶�63
William 窶廝ill窶� Weaver 窶�63
C. Norman Blacklee 窶�64
David Necco 窶�65
Reginald Parsons 窶�65
Buvil West 窶�65
Luther Cowan 窶�66, 窶�73
John Murphy, Jr. 窶�66
Robert Stearns 窶�66
Craig Winborn 窶�66
Cecil Callicott 窶�67
James Clark 窶�67, 窶�89
Robert 窶廝ob窶� Mayhew 窶�67
Cheryl Blackwell 窶�68
Kenneth Carney 窶�68
Richard Hasley 窶�68
Richard Linsly 窶�68
Lester 窶廰.K.窶� Pitchford, Jr. 窶�68

1970s

Ralph Smith 窶�70
Gregory York 窶�70
Charles Alden 窶�73
Charles Campbell 窶�74
James Hetherington 窶�74
Tom Cook 窶�74
Lucille Rose 窶�74
Evelyn Thomas 窶�74
Gholam 窶廱oe窶� Ahmadifar 窶�75
Dan Hensley 窶�75
William Simpson 窶�75
Edward Sutter III 窶�75
Gerald 窶廱erry窶� Hill 窶�76
Ralph 窶弋ed窶� Stricker 窶�76
Michael Kanz 窶�77
Leon Collins IV 窶�78
Jack Smith 窶�78
Robert Woehleke 窶�78
David Kedy 窶�79

1980s

Tomilou Liddell 窶�81
James McCright 窶�82
Paul Smith 窶�82, 窶�89
Margorie Johnston Ramana 窶�83
John 窶彜onny窶� Kanoski 窶�84
Gene Pekah 窶�84
Joseph Walkowski 窶�84
Gary Chappell 窶�85
Riley Nix 窶�85
Janice Green Marsh 窶�86
Lee Howard 窶�87
Scott Carter 窶�89

1990s

Donna Miller 窶�90
Derick Peters 窶�90
Kathy Snodgrass 窶�90
Earnest 窶廢rnie窶� Upton, Jr. 窶�90
Ralph Zeller 窶�90
Barbara Covalt 窶�93
Debra Scadden 窶�93
Peter Palughi 窶�96
Kathryn Wilson 窶�96
Joseph Carter III 窶�97
Carolyn Erickson 窶�98
Joyce Calderwood 窶�99, 窶�01
Daniel Dooley 窶�99

2000s

Cindy Shaw 窶�07, 窶�09

2020s

Nathan LeBlanc 窶�22

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