Lucile Lindsay would have turned 100 today. And while she didn’t make it, her birthday is nonetheless marked by a gift—not to her, but from her.
When Lindsay died in July 2009 at the age of 98, she left a portion of her estate to the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. This month, OMRF received that gift, a bequest of $45,600.
Lindsay was born on Sept. 22, 1910, in Indiahoma, Okla. She was the first member of her family to graduate from high school, and she moved to Norman to attend the University of Oklahoma. But once there, education was replaced by another great love—David “Dutch” Lindsay.
They married and moved to Oklahoma City, where Dutch invested in oil properties. Although the couple shared a love of children, they had none of their own. “They were like a second set of parents to me,” said Betty Wooden, Lindsay’s niece.
Lucile Lindsay went to work for Gov. Roy Turner. In 1947, while Lindsay served on his staff, Turner led “Research Week,” a 77-county fundraising drive to build a new medical research institute in Oklahoma. The drive raised $2.35 million, and OMRF opened its doors in Oklahoma City in 1950.
Dutch died in 1960 of complications from diabetes. The loss galvanized Lucile’s commitment to medical research.
Following her husband’s death, Lindsay worked at Kerr-McGee for 14 years. In her retirement, she enjoyed gardening, travel and volunteering at her church. Upon her death, she made gifts to her church, the local YMCA and OMRF.
“Lucile Lindsay’s gift to OMRF is a lasting tribute to a woman who cared about others,” said Ginny Carl, Senior Director of Development at OMRF. “We are honored to receive her donation and put it to work helping find medical advances to benefit the world.”
According to Wooden, the gift was characteristic of her aunt’s life. “She believed that you pay your rent for space on earth by doing good deeds,” Wooden said.
