IN MEMORY Carl Tobias Schlesinger O C T. 12, 1 926 – N OV. 9, 20 14
Carl Schlesinger, 88, died Nov. 9, leaving family and friends to remember a vibrant man who loved the printed word, The New York Times, tap dance, music, writing rhymes, union and printing history, and entertaining audiences. For his efforts to recognize and promote the dance form, Carl received the Heritage Award-American Dance from Oklahoma City University School of American Dance and Arts Management in 2001 and a Flo-Bert award in 2009. Born to William and Lillian Schlesinger on Oct. 12, 1926, in the Bronx, N.Y., he launched a penny newspaper at age 10 and ultimately published two books on printing, including a biography of Ottmar Merganthaler, the inventor of the linotype. He co-produced and narrated the award-winning film “Farewell Etaoin Shrdlu,” which has won numerous awards around the world. Commemorating the first use of color printing in the paper, Schlesinger composed “The New York Times Color March” and in 1999 it was recognized by Times’ publisher Arthur Sulzberger as the paper’s official march. It has been performed across the country, including at Oklahoma City University. His career as a printer began in 1946 when he worked at Fairchild to serve a five-year printer’s apprenticeship learning linotype and page make-up. He went on to work for other major New York newspapers and joined The New York Times in 1952. In 1967, he was invited to head up a printing program in Nairobi, Kenya, teaching the art and establishing a school with the newest machinery. He also worked for the Flying Doctors Service of East Africa. In 1975 he returned to The Times developing a retraining program for the linotype operators to learn keyboarding. Schlesinger retired from The Times in 1990.
lobbyist for Oklahoma Education Association. Nancy served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1982 through 1986, directing her efforts toward children and education. She later served as an administrator at Tulsa Community College and as vice president of OU-Tulsa when illness forced her retirement in 2005. Nancy was a founding trustee of the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence and a board member of the Foundation for Tulsa Schools and the Community Service Council. She was a member and president of the Tulsa County Library Commission.
Nancy Virtue Lewis NOV. 9, 1 94 9 – SE PT. 24 , 2 0 14
Lulu G. (Muff) Ford
Former OU-Tulsa Vice President and State Representative Nancy Virtue Lewis passed away Sept. 24, after a long illness. Nancy was born in Oklahoma City on Nov. 9, 1949, the daughter of the Rev. Dick Virtue and Suzanne Starr Virtue of Norman. She received a BA in political science from Colorado College and a Master of Arts in teaching from Oklahoma City University. She taught at Norman High School until 1977. Shortly after Title IX passed, Nancy coached girls’ track, and in her second year, the Norman High team took second in state. She returned to Colorado Springs in 1977 and continued teaching, concentrating on students with mental health or behavioral issues at a hospital and a youth ranch. While at Norman High, Nancy joined other teachers in lobbying for public education. Nancy said that as they talked to state legislators, she noticed they were all “for education,” but at the end of each session, little positive seemed to have happened. She decided to leave the classroom and became the first paid C LASS O F
Lulu Ford DEC . 12, 19 18 – DEC . 14, 20 14
Lulu G. (Muff) Ford, age 96, passed away Dec. 14. She worked in the OCU Chapel office and Wimberly School of Religion from 1987 to 1997. Muff was a proud Kansan by birth but lived her adult life in Tulsa and Oklahoma City. Her working career consisted of Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, Village United Methodist Church, and Oklahoma City University. Her years of teaching Sunday School at “Village” affected many lives, and her decades singing in the church choir enabled her to know the alto parts to most every song in the hymnal. She was an organizational whiz, an avid sports fan, and a friend to all. Working crossword puzzles and cryptoquotes in ink topped her list of hobbies but nothing was more important to Buddy (her grandma name) than her family.
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B.C. Clark Jr.
L. Newell Darner
Charles E. Mehr
Patsy R. Bryan Arnold Short William R. Strain
Vivian A. Bonifield
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