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Daily Oklahoman, The
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
October 12, 2006, page 17A
 Kirkpatrick
was born in Oklahoma City on Feb. 13, 1908, a year after statehood.
He was one of five children of Dr. Elmer and Claudia Spencer
Kirkpatrick. His father, a dentist in Oklahoma Territory, helped
establish the Oklahoma Dental Association. His maternal grandfather,
Lewis M. Spencer and great uncle, A. N. Spencer, founded Yukon,
Oklahoma. Both of John's grandfathers served in the Civil War, one
on the Union side and the other on the Confederate side.
Kirkpatrick married Mary Eleanor Blake in 1932. She died in May
1997. They are survived by a daughter,
Joan Kirkpatrick, and
grandson, Christian Keesee.
He was educated in Oklahoma City Public Schools and was a 1925 graduate of Oklahoma High School. John attended the Marion Institute in Alabama. In the tradition of his brothers Lewis Spencer Kirkpatrick and Elmer Ellsworth Kirkpatrick, Jr., he attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, as did his brother-in-law John Dean Moorman who was married to his sister Mary. In 1927 he was appointed to the U. S. Naval Academy and graduated in 1931 and until his death was the 7th oldest Academy graduate. His younger brother Claude Siceluff Kirkpatrick also attended the Academy. John attended Harvard Business School after he completed his first tour of duty in the Navy. In 1932 John and Mary Eleanor Blake were married. He served as an officer in the U. S. Navy until 1935 and remained in the U. S. Navy Reserve.
Fellow naval veteran and close friend Ray Ackerman said
Kirkpatrick was proud of his time with the armed forces. "His
mother pawned her expensive earrings to raise money to send him to
military prep school so he could make it to Annapolis,"
Ackerman said. "When your mother does something like that to
get you started out in life, it has extra meaning for you.
Kirkpatrick was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1962.
He and two partners formed Allied Steel Products Company in Tulsa. John and Eleanor lived in Tulsa until 1941 when he was called back into the Navy. His longest tour of duty during World War II was on the USS North Carolina. He also served on the USS Alaska and the USS Oklahoma City, holding the rank of Commander at the conclusion of the war. He received two Bronze Stars. He continued his Naval career in the U. S. Navy Reserve retiring as a Rear Admiral in 1956. In 1946, John began his long career in the oil and gas business with the assistance of Eleanor's father, Mack Barkley Blake. Kirkpatrick Oil Company was organized in 1950 and additional, related companies, including Kirkpatrick Supply, Kirkpatrick Well Servicing, Jennings Engine Supply and Kirkpatrick Oil & Gas, were formed over the years. During the 1950s, John and Eleanor began their many years as philanthropists with the establishment of the Kirkpatrick Foundation. Their first significant gift was the contribution to build a new building for the Oklahoma Art Center. Another building was built on the Fairgrounds for planetarium, science and arts programs. It now houses City Arts Center. Kirkpatrick Center opened in 1976 for Omniplex, which included a large planetarium, expanded areas for science, arts and space programming. Omniplex is Oklahoma's largest science museum. Other important contributions over the years include the Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Building at Oklahoma City University; Oklahoma City Zoological Society; Lyric Theatre; National Cowboy Hall & Western Heritage Museum, and the John E. Kirkpatrick Horticulture Center at Oklahoma State University/Oklahoma City. After researching the growing community foundation movement, John started the Oklahoma City Community Foundation in 1969. Over the years, John and Eleanor were substantial contributors to the Community Foundation. The Kirkpatrick legacy to the metropolitan Oklahoma City area will be particularly remembered by over two hundred nonprofit organizations with growing endowment funds supported by John and Eleanor Kirkpatrick. In 1989 they funded the Kirkpatrick Family Fund, an Affiliated Fund in the Community Foundation that focuses on grants for central Oklahoma charities. John E. Kirkpatrick has been a major participant in Oklahoma City banking. Eleanor's father, M. B. Blake was a founder of Liberty National Bank and John served on Liberty's board of directors for fifty years. In 1988, he helped organize the effort to save the bank and maintain its Oklahoma ownership, making a very significant financial contribution to this effort. John was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1962. He has received numerous awards including Outstanding Oklahoma Oil Man, Governor's Arts Award, Oklahoma Humanitarian of the Year from the National Association of Christians and Jews, Oklahoma Commerce and Industry Hall of Fame, Oklahoma City Public Schools Wall of Fame, and the American Association of Museums' Medal for Distinguished Philanthropy. He has served on and chaired many boards of nonprofit organizations. His most recent board positions were Founding Trustee, Oklahoma City Community Foundation; Chairman, Kirkpatrick Family Fund; Honorary Chairman, Kirkpatrick Foundation; Omniplex; Oklahoma Zoological Society; Allied Arts; Lyric Theatre; and State Fair of Oklahoma.
John is survived by his daughter, Joan Kirkpatrick; his grandson, Christian K. Keesee; and his great grandson, Blake C.K. Keesee. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, Oklahoma City, OK 73102 or other charities of the donor's choice. Services will be held at First Presbyterian Church, 1001 Northwest 25th Street on Saturday, October 14, 2006 at 1:00 p.m. The Interment will be private.
John Elson Kirkpatrick was remembered Saturday as a
loving, moral and faithful family member who stood as a pillar of
the Oklahoma community for nearly a century.
Born the son of a local dentist, Kirkpatrick was a Navy man who
spent much of World War II aboard battleships. He had married Mary
Eleanor Blake in 1932 to form an Oklahoma partnership that ranks
among the top in charitable giving.
Kirkpatrick died in his sleep Oct. 3 at the age of 98.
Kirkpatrick's casket, draped in a flag that flew on the USS
Oklahoma City on the day the Japanese surrendered World War II, was
carried into the vaulted sanctuary by six Navy sailors. Bagpipes
playing "Amazing Grace" led the procession, a nod to the
Kirkpatrick family's Scottish heritage.
Services for Kirkpatrick will be at 1 p.m. Oct. 14 at First
Presbyterian Church, 1001 NW 25, under the direction of
Hahn-Cook/Street & Draper funeral directors.
The sum of Kirkpatrick's life was to share his wealth rather than
keep it, to give to his community far more than he took from it and
to bring joy and cultural opportunity to the people. By his
generosity, Kirkpatrick was made whole. The city is filled with
reminders of his passion for giving.
Giving back time as well as money is the true legacy that John
Kirkpatrick has left to Oklahoma City.
John & Eleanor Kirkpatrick John and Eleanor
Kirkpatrick started the Kirkpatrick Foundation in May 1955, giving
millions of dollars to charities in Oklahoma. Serving on various
boards of directors, Kirkpatrick made subtle suggestions and looked
after their respective donations. He established the Oklahoma City
Community Foundation in 1969. In 1972 he quietly assisted in
bringing the USS Batfish to Muskogee, Oklahoma, making it one
of four World War II submarine memorials in the nation. In 1978 he
opened the Kirkpatrick Center museum complex (Omniplex) in Oklahoma
City, and saved Liberty National Bank with a $20 million donation
during the decline of the oil and gas industry in 1988. John E.
Kirkpatrick died in Oklahoma City on October 4, 2006.
Postal cover cancelled on the USS Tulsa on August 29, 1934 while
she was on "Asiatic Station" from Mrs. G. G. Molumphy and addressed
to Mrs.
John E. Kirkpatrick, USS Cincinnati, San Diego, California, U.S.A.
Unfortunately, there is no letter enclosed in the cover.
this image submitted April 11, 2010 by Paul Roales
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