IN M E M O RY
Hoover became a teacher in Texas before going to work in the fashion industry. She was named Los Angeles Fashion Institute’s “Top Model” in 1978 and continued her work as fashion designer for various companies. Joan Kirkpatrick Joan Kirkpatrick died Aug. 4, 2009. Kirkpatrick was born Aug. 7, 1933, to John Elson and Eleanor Blake Kirkpatrick. She graduated from Oklahoma City University in 1954 with an English degree. During her time at OCU she proved to be an accomplished artist and sculptor — hobbies she enjoyed the rest of her life. Kirkpatrick’s life was centered in Oklahoma City, but because of her father's career she and her mother traveled frequently and took up residence in Tulsa, Boston and then New York between 1933 and 1941. She and her mother returned to Oklahoma City in 1942. Kirkpatrick was a volunteer, bought war bonds and collected metal for the war effort. She graduated from Classen High School in 1950. She began her freshman college year at Mount Vernon Junior College in Washington, D.C., transferred to Colorado College and joined Kappa Alpha Theta Joan Kirkpatrick sorority. Joan married Konrad Kent Keesee May 10, 1960. Their only child, Christian Keesee, was born in December 1961. Kirkpatrick took particular pride in her volunteer work, especially at Deaconess Hospital in an adminis-
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trative position. Her most significant work was with the Kirkpatrick Foundation, which her parents began in 1955. She 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. She was honored to be on the collections management committee at the museum, a committee her mother had served on since the museum’s founding. In 1998, the museum trustees finished a long-range plan. They decided it was time for an expansion and to move to a space in the downtown area. When Kirkpatrick mentioned to her father that she planned to make a sizable gift to this effort, he agreed to match it. Together, they made the first and most significant gift to the new museum campaign. They did so in honor of Eleanor Blake Kirkpatrick. As she continued her work as chairwoman of the Kirkpatrick Foundation, she began to focus the foundation’s resources on areas of her particular interest, especially animal welfare and environmental concerns. Joan is survived by her son, Christian Kirkpatrick Keesee and her grandson, Blake Christian Kirkpatrick Keesee. Alvin Naifeh Alvin Naifeh, 76, died Sept. 5, 2009. Alvin was an icon at OCU. He was a daily fixture on campus from the time he began taking classes in the mid-1950s until about four years ago. He worked for many years in the Oklahoma City University campus post office and Alvin’s Café is named for him. Naifeh lived on campus for many years even after his days as a student
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Alvin Naifeh
and was considered an integral part of many people’s lives in the OCU community. He was roommates with Jerald Walker when the two were OCU students. Walker later became president of the university. He was a movie buff who collected Hollywood memorabilia. The Alvin Naifeh Collection in the DulaneyBrowne Library includes the movies and books he donated to the university. He was proud to say he shared a birthday with actress Carol Burnett. It was Alvin’s uncle who introduced him to the world of film and theater. He became an avid reader of film industry literature and knew almost everything about almost every famous figure in movies. One of his favorite celebrities was Roy Rogers. Alvin enjoyed watching science fiction, Westerns, comedies and horror movies. He was always ready to see the latest movies at the theater. He volunteered with and appeared in Lyric Theatre productions. Alvin helped with running errands, building props and preparing the dressing rooms for shows. He was known for his smile and ready wit. Alvin always remembered everyone he’d met when he would see them around the community, especially those he knew from OCU.