Joan Kirkpatrick, chairman of the Kirkpatrick Foundation in Oklahoma City, died Tuesday at the age of 75.

Joan Kirkpatrick died on August 4, 2009 of a leukemia related illness. She was witty, stylish, understated and courageous. Joan was born August 7, 1933 to John Elson and Eleanor Blake Kirkpatrick. Her grandparents were Dr. and Mrs. Elmer Ellsworth Kirkpatrick and Mr. and Mrs. Mack Barkley Blake. Joan's life was centered in Oklahoma City, but because of her father's career, she and her mother traveled frequently and took up residence between 1933 and 1941 in Tulsa, Boston and then New York. As the second World War began, Eleanor and Joan would see little of John as he served in the Navy in the South Pacific Theatre. In 1942 Eleanor and Joan returned to Oklahoma City and eventually moved in with Mr. and Mrs. Blake at the house they built in Heritage Hills on 17th street.

It was in these early years that Joan formed a close friendship with her grandfather. She learned many things from him - particularly thrift. As an early investor in the oil and gas business and as one of the founders of the Liberty National Bank, Mr. Blake was busy, but he always found time for Joan. Their food and provisions during the war time were rationed. Joan found herself volunteering, buying war bonds and collecting metal for the war effort. Joan attended Classen High School and graduated in 1950. She began her freshman year at Mount Vernon Junior College in Washington, D.C., transferred to Colorado College and joined Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. She graduated from Oklahoma City University with a degree in English in 1954. During this time at school she also proved to be an accomplished artist and sculptor—hobbies she would enjoy the rest of her life. While never seeking personal recognition, in 1956 Joan was presented as a debutant at the Beaux Arts Ball, joined the Junior League of Oklahoma City, and participated in other social organizations which focused on helping others. Joan also pursued her own professional goals by working at the art department of then KMPT-TV in Oklahoma City and then in earning her real estate license.

On May 10, 1960, Joan married Konrad Kent Keesee at her parent's house in Nichols Hills. In December of 1961 their only child, Christian Keesee was born, and, although their marriage eventually ended, the couple remained friends throughout Joan's lifetime. Over the years, Joan took particular pride in her volunteer work - especially at Deaconess Hospital in an administrative position. Her most significant work was done with the Kirkpatrick Foundation which her parents began in 1955. She first became a board member in 1976. She also served as a board member of St. Anthony's Bone and Joint Hospital, Free to Live animal sanctuary, the Oklahoma Nature Conservancy and the Oklahoma City Art Museum. At the museum, she took great pride in being on the collections management committee - a committee her mother had served on since the museum's founding. In 1998 the museum trustees finished a long-range plan. They had a talented and vivacious new director in Carolyn Hill, who decided it was time for an expansion, and to move to a space in the newly re-energized downtown area. When Joan mentioned to her father that she planned to make a sizable gift to this effort, he was pleased, but had no idea that she would use all of the strength and determination she could muster to get him to match her gift. Together, they made the first and most significant gift to the new museum effort. They did so in honor of Eleanor Blake Kirkpatrick. As Joan continued her work as Chairman of the Kirkpatrick Foundation, she began to focus the foundation's resources on areas that she had a particular interest in - especially animal welfare and environmental concerns. As a longtime donor to the Morris Animal Foundation, she encouraged collaborative animal research studies with Oklahoma State University's School of Veterinary Medicine and the development of veterinary research science fellowships. She was also instrumental in encouraging national veterinary standards at the Oklahoma City Zoo and their collaboration with the OSU Veterinary School. The financial independence that Joan inherited at Mr. Blake's death in 1946, her modest lifestyle and conservative philosophies will be put to good use. Before her death, Joan set up a number of endowment funds at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation that will now be funded to benefit the animal welfare organizations that she has long believed in. Her legacy as a low-key, but effective philanthropist is now fully realized. Joan is survived by her son, Christian Kirkpatrick Keesee and her grandson, Blake Christian Kirkpatrick Keesee. Funeral services will be held at All Souls Episcopal Church at 1:00pm on Saturday, August 8. A reception with the family will follow in the Parish Hall. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a memorial to: The Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Dr., OKC 73102.

In 1955, her father and mother, John and Eleanor Blake Kirkpatrick, established the Kirkpatrick Foundation, which has served as a primary vehicle for their family philanthropy to this day. Additionally, in 1969, the Oklahoma City Community Foundation (OCCF) was established by the family to build endowment funds to help sustain nonprofits and in 1994 the Kirkpatrick Foundation made a major gift to the OCCF to start the Kirkpatrick Family Affiliated Fund to further broaden the family's scope of community giving.