John E. Kirkpatrick
1908-2006
John Elson Kirkpatrick was born February 13, 1908. His parents
were Dr. Elmer Ellsworth and Claudia Spencer Kirkpatrick. His maternal grandfather, Lewis M. Spencer and great uncle, A.N. Spencer, founded Yukon, Okla.
Mr. Kirkpatrick was educated in Oklahoma City Public Schools and was a 1925 graduate of Oklahoma High School. John attended the Marion Institute in Alabama. In the tradition of his brothers Lewis Spencer Kirkpatrick and Elmer Ellsworth Kirkpatrick Jr., he attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, as did his brother-in-law John Dean Moorman who was married to Mr. Kirkpatrick’s sister Mary. In 1927 he was appointed to the U. S. Naval Academy and graduated in 1931 and until his death was the seventh oldest Academy graduate. His younger brother Claude Siceluff Kirkpatrick also attended the Academy. John attended Harvard Business School after he completed his first tour of duty in the Navy.
 John and Eleanor Kirkpatrick |
In 1932 John and Mary Eleanor Blake were married. He served as an officer in the U. S. Navy until 1935 and remained in the U. S. Navy Reserve. He and two partners formed Allied Steel Products Company in Tulsa. John and Eleanor lived in Tulsa until 1941 when he was called back into the Navy. His longest tour of duty during World War II was on the USS North Carolina. He also served on the USS Alaska and the USS Oklahoma City, holding the rank of Commander at the conclusion of the war. He received two Bronze Stars. He continued his naval career in the U. S. Navy Reserve retiring as a Rear Admiral in 1956.
After World War II, Mr. Kirkpatrick began a long and successful career in the oil and gas business in 1946. Kirkpatrick Oil Company was organized in 1950 and other companies were created in following years. Today, Kirkpatrick Oil Company is one of the oldest active oil companies in Oklahoma
It was during the 1950s that the Kirkpaticks began their roles as major philanthropists by establishing a private foundation. The Kirkpatrick Foundation’s first significant contribution was for the construction of a new building for the Oklahoma Art Center which today is known as the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.
Other noteworthy contributions over the years include the Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Building at Oklahoma City University; Oklahoma City Zoological Society; Lyric Theatre, National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum and the John E. Kirkpatrick Horticulture Center at Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City. The Kirkpatrick Foundation continues to support projects and programs.
After researching the growing community foundation movement, Mr. Kirkpatrick started the Oklahoma City Community Foundation in 1969. Over the years, he and his wife were substantial contributors to the Oklahoma City Community Foundation.
Mr. Kirkpatrick established endowment funds for many charitable organizations and throughout the years offered dollar-for-dollar matches to participating organizations. Thanks to his generosity and leadership, today more than 300 nonprofit organizations have endowments at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation, making the endowment program the largest of its kind in the United States.
 John E. Kirkpatrick and Christian K. Keesee |
In 1989 the family funded the Kirkpatrick Family Fund, an affiliated fund administered by the Oklahoma City Community Foundation that focuses on grants for central Oklahoma charities plus select nonprofit projects and organizations in other areas of the country.
Mr. Kirkpatrick was also a major participant in Oklahoma City banking. His father-in-law, M.B. Blake, was a founder of Liberty National Bank and Mr. Kirkpatrick served on the bank’s board of directors for 50 years. Mr. Kirkpatrick is credited with saving Liberty Bank from collapsing during the oil bust in 1988 by investing $20 million of his own money. Thanks to his investment, the bank survived and was one of only two banks with more than $1 billion in assets in Oklahoma and Texas not to fail by the end of the 1980s. He was successful in maintaining the bank’s Oklahoma ownership until December 31, 1996 when Liberty Bancorp, Inc. merged with Banc One Corp., which subsequently merged with J.P. Morgan Chase in 2004.
Mr. Kirkpatrick was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1962. He received numerous awards including Outstanding Oklahoma Oil Man, Governor’s Arts Award, Oklahoma Humanitarian of the Year from the National Association of Christians and Jews, Oklahoma Commerce and Industry Hall of Fame, Oklahoma City Public Schools Wall of Fame, and the American Association of Museums’ Medal for Distinguished Philanthropy. He served on and chaired many boards of nonprofit organizations.
Mr. Kirkpatrick died October 3, 2006 at the age of 98. Over a 50-year span, Mr. Kirkpatrick and his family contributed more than $150 million to nonprofit organizations in central Oklahoma. His generosity benefited the arts, science and medical field as well as established the largest charitable organization endowment program in the country. Mr. Kirkpatrick left a substantial financial legacy for charity but an even greater personal legacy of generosity and caring.
