IN MEMORY Ann Simmons Alspaugh D EC . 13, 1 93 4 – SEPT. 20 , 20 1 6
Ann Simmons Alspaugh was born in Duncan, Oklahoma, to Marjorie Simmons Alspaugh Gray and Howard Beason Alspaugh. Ann was the mother of three, the grandmother of seven, an executive, a community leader, a patron of the arts, and an engaged philanthropist. Education was of Ann Alspaugh essential importance to Ann, as it was something she said no one could take away. The honorary degree bestowed upon her by OCU in 1986, the long associations with The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation and the Oklahoma School of Science and Math, and the degrees in law, medicine, and business achieved by
HONORING ANN In 1984, Ann established the Ann Simmons Alspaugh Music Endowed Scholarship. Gifts to the scholarship fund in Ann’s memory can be made by visiting okcu.edu/give, by calling (405) 208-7000, or by sending mail to OCU Advancement, 2501 N. Blackwelder, Oklahoma City, OK, 73106. her children were sources of great pride. Community leadership defined Ann. She had a servant’s heart and used her energies and gifts to make a difference in the lives of others. Service enriched her life and gave her joy, confidence, and happiness. Hence, over the course of her long life, Ann dedicated herself to the enrichment of Oklahoma and the often anonymous care of those in immediate need. In return, the state honored her with induction into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. Ann understood the impact of the fine arts on the culture of Oklahoma. She collected, she mentored, she gave special support to Native American artists, and she focused her attention most recently on the Oklahoma Contemporary Art Center. Ann’s awards include the Oklahoma City University’s Distinguished Service Award in 1984; Honorary Degree, Doctor of Humane Letters, from OCU in 1986; 1992 OCU Norick Hulsey Gallery Society Award; the 1993 Distinguished Friend of Oklahoma City University; and many awards from community, state, and nonprofit organizations. She joined the OCU Board of Trustees in 1981.
Ellen Jayne Wheeler AUGUST 1 2, 1 93 6–J U LY 1 9, 2 0 16
Ellen Jayne, MAT ’67, was an alumna and music professor at Oklahoma City University. Ellen was born in Durant, Oklahoma, to Harold and Edith Maris after her father was hired to work on the WPA project to build the Denison Dam, which created Lake Texoma. The family moved to Texas while Ellen was a baby. She took music lessons, sang, played the piano, and taught herself to play band instruments. She also won the state regionals title in women’s doubles tennis. Ellen graduated from high school as valedictorian in 1954. She earned a full scholarship to attend Texas Western College in El Paso, Texas, and graduated in 1958 as the outstanding woman graduate, with a bachelor’s degree in music. Ellen taught vocal music in El Paso Public Schools. In 1960, she accepted a Rotary Fellow scholarship to study lieder, opera, drama, piano, voice, and guitar in Vienna, Austria. Ellen moved back to the U.S. and joined an opera apprentice program in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She accepted a music teaching position in 1963 in Okeene, Oklahoma, and then moved to Kingfisher, Oklahoma, in 1964. She formed a piano duo with LaDonna Kramer Meinders. She moved to Oklahoma City and earned a teaching position at OCU while working on a Master of Arts in teaching, which she earned with honors in 1967. She married Joseph Clyde Wheeler. She served in leadership roles at Crown Heights Christian Church, where he was the lead pastor. During the U.S. Bicentennial, Ellen was selected to play piano on stage with LaDonna Meinders at the Kennedy Center, representing Oklahoma. Ellen earned a Doctorate of Musical Arts in vocal performance in 1987. She started teaching voice again at OCU and then retired in 2001. She continued
Left: Wheeler with her husband, J. Clyde Wheeler, in 1989. Right: Wheeler as Guinevere in the Lyric Theatre production of Camelot in 1968. Photos provided by Don Wheeler
traveling to Singapore for several more years to teach and continued teaching students at home until the day before she died. Ellen was a member of several organizations including DAR, PEO, Colonial Dames, Women Descendants of the Ancient & Honorable Artillery Co., Zeta Tau Alpha, Sigma Alpha Iota, KETS, COMTA, NATS, CWF, OCOL, Pianist Club, Magna Charta, Mary Kay, LMC, Girls Scouts, and Lady Godiva. Donations in honor of Ellen may be made to the Harold and Edith Maris Scholarship Fund at OCU by calling (405) 208-7000. TO DONATE IN REMEMBRANCE: okcu.edu/onlinegiving // 25