Raymond Gary's death is a great loss for Oklahoma. Long after he left elected office, he continued to be an important and influential adviser to many elected officials and community leaders.
Born: January 21, 1908| Periods in Office: | January 10, 1955 ~ January 08, 1959 |
Raymond Dancel Gary, Democrat. Served from 1955 to 1959. He was the first Governor to be born Oklahoma since statehood. His birth date was January 21, 1908, and his birthplace, a farm midway between Madill and Kingston. He was educated in the local schools and Southeastern State College. After five years of teaching he was elected county superintendent of schools and served for four years. In 1936, he began his business career, first in school and office supplies, later as president of the Sooner Oil Company. He was a State Senator from 1941 until he became governor January 10, 1955.
Raymond Gary was governor during Oklahoma’s semi-centennial year and during his administration courageously brought a peaceful end to segregation in Oklahoma’s public schools, colleges and universities.
Raymond Gary, 15th Governor of Oklahoma, was memorialized Thursday [October 2007] during a luncheon in the Heritage Room of the Oklahoma Memorial Union in Norman when a Memorial Scholarship was announced.
Raymond Gary State Park is located in southeast Oklahoma on the shores of Raymond Gary Lake in the area of Fort Towson, Choctaw County, Oklahoma.
During Gary’s gubernatorial administration, the state’s public schools were integrated and a constitutional amendment was adopted abolishing state financing of segregated schools. Gary also worked toward the elimination of other racial restrictions in the state, which helped to prevent the kind of violence that erupted elsewhere in the south.
Gary was devoted to improving Oklahoma’s roads, and between 1955 and 1959 more than 3,500 miles of new highways were constructed and roughly 800 miles of the new interstate system were planned.
He died December 11, 1993, and is buried in Madill.
Gov. Gary died in 1993 in Madill. He was the first native-born Oklahoman to be elected to the state’s executive office.
The body of former Gov. Raymond Gary will lie in state on the second
floor of the state Capitol from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today. U.S. Sen. David
Boren and former state Attorney General Robert Henry, now dean of the
Oklahoma City University law school, will speak during a noon ceremony.
Gary, 85, died Saturday of congestive heart failure. He was elected in
1954 as Oklahoma's 15th governor and served from 1955 to 1959.
Burial will be at Woodberry Forest Cemetery in Madill.
Survivors are, son Raymond J. Gary and his wife Anne Hamill Gary of
Denison, Texas; daughter Mona Mae Waymire and husband Joseph D. Waymire of
Madill; brother Joe F. Gary, Durant; sister Ruby Kemp, Yuba City, Calif.;
sister Mary Jane Coe, Odessa, Texas; five grandchildren and 11
great-grandchildren.
Gary was preceded in death by his wife, Anna Mae Purser, on May 15, 1992.
The Daily Oklahoman
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
December 17, 1993, page 1
Gary Mourned, Eulogized In Kingston Church Service
KINGSTON - An entire community and notable state leaders crowded into the First Baptist Church on Thursday to mourn the passing of former Gov. Raymond Gary. Gary, 85, died Saturday of congestive heart failure. It was James Hamill, longtime family friend now of Washington, D.C., who eulogized Gary.
On their way to the service, most passed along the road from Madill to Kingfisher where the Baptist Children's Home stands. It was Gary and his wife, Emma, who donated $200,000 and a 37-acre tract of land for the home.
On their way to the service, most passed along the road from Madill to Kingfisher where the Baptist Children's Home stands. It was Gary and his wife, Emma, who donated $200,000 and a 37-acre tract of land for the home.
An obituary taking up nearly half of the front page in the local
newspaper noted a multitude of other accomplishments, including his quiet
success in integrating Oklahoma schools with little fanfare.
The lengthy story also noted Gary was "a devout Baptist (who) avoided
liquor throughout his lifetime."
The Rev. Joe Ingram of Oklahoma City commented that Gary always was in
church but never would sing.
He brought tears to a few eyes when he surmised that Gary might be singing
in heaven, now that he's been reunited with his "Miss Emma."
The Daily Oklahoman
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
December 14, 1993, page 4
Marshall County's Son
Gary never forgot his roots in Marshall County, and the circumstances of the Great Depression. Born south of Madill, in the Archard community, he married his high school sweetheart, Emma Mae Purser, and worked for a while as a teacher at Rocky Point school. Later, as a legislator, he pioneered the state's free textbook policy for public school students.
After 14 years as a state senator representing Marshall and Johnston counties, Gary was elected in 1954 as the state's 15th governor. Serving 1955 to 1959, he oversaw construction of thousands of miles of new roads, both rural and interstate, without tax hikes or tolls.regarding his induction into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1970 as the
highlight of his life. He also received Oklahoma State University's Henry
G. Bennett Distinguished Service Award in 1976.
A devout Baptist, Gary and his wife (who died last year) were exemplary
church members, making repeated gifts of time and resources, including
principal support for the Baptist Children's Home.
Works Cited
Marshall County's Son." Daily Oklahoman [Oklahoma City]14 Dec 1993: 4
"Gary Mourned, Eulogized in Kingston Church Service." Daily Oklahoman 17 Dec. 1993: 1. Archives. Metropolitian Library System, Choctaw, OK. 1 Nov. 2007.
http://www.heralddemocrat.com/articles/2007/10/28/local_news/news13.txt
http://www.odl.state.ok.us/oar/governors/Gary.htm
National Governors Association 1908-2008
Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. 3. Westport, CT: Meckler Books, 1978. 4 vols.
The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Vol. I. New York: James T. White & Company.