Helon Elizabeth LaGree

Helon Elizabeth Whiteside LaGree, age 100, a forward-looking Oklahoman dearly loved by her family and community, passed on to be with her Lord December 31, 2014. Helon Whiteside LaGree is the granddaughter of the J.R. McMahan pioneer family who helped to establish Altus. Born November 4, 1914, Helon graduated from Altus High School at the age of 15, and graduated from the University of Missouri with two degrees, a bachelor of journalism degree and an arts and sciences degree with a double major of psychology and history. Her first employment was in the national office of the social sorority, Delta Delta Delta, an affiliation she enjoyed for life. After her June 26, 1939 marriage to Brooks Jennings LaGree, Sr. of Newton, Kansas, they established their home in Woodward, Oklahoma until 1943 when they moved to Altus. Helon became active in Scouting as a Troop Leader and later as Altus Girl Scout Council president, developing the Girl Scout Camp Kate Portwood at Granite. Throughout the years, Helon and her husband, Brooks, gave time and resources to the First United Methodist Church on Main Street, the Community Concert Series, the Altus Literary Club, the United Fund, the Altus Civic Trust Fund, the Women’s Republican Club, the Jackson County Memorial Hospital Hospice program and other organizations. In 1965, Governor Henry Bellmon appointed Helon as a charter board member of the Oklahoma Arts and Humanities Council, later known as the State Arts Council. She served two consecutive terms on the state board to improve the cultural offerings of Southwest Oklahoma. Helon conceived the idea of building a museum in Altus to house a collection of historical documents, photographs, and artifacts as well as recorded interviews associated with the histories of pioneer families. Helon gathered interested citizens around her and formed the Western Trail Historical Society with the expressed purpose of establishing a museum. Over the next eleven years, under Helon’s leadership as president, the Museum of the Western Prairie was fully conceived, designed, and built in the half-dugout style with the formal dedication on February 25, 1974. Helon continued to serve on the Board of Directors for the Western Trail Historical Society until her resignation in 2008. In the early 1970’s, Helon LaGree and other State Arts Council representatives were instrumental in forming the Shortgrass Arts and Humanities Council under the sponsorship of the Museum of the Western Prairie. In 1978 the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute (OSAI) was formed to provide more opportunities exclusively for Oklahoma students involved in various art disciplines. OASI is now held annually at Quartz Mountain Resort Arts and Conference Center. Helon served on the OSAI Board from 1979 until 1990 when she became a Director Emeritus. Helon is survived by five children: Suzanne Elizabeth and husband, Robert Dale Kopitke, of Frisco, Texas; Retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Brooks Jennings LaGree, Jr. and wife, Barbara Anne Jasper, of Albuquerque; Helon Deanne and husband, Donald Lowrey Burnett, of Larned, Kansas; Margie Jane LaGree of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and James Parker LaGree and wife, Barbara Ann Juetersonke, of Edmond, Oklahoma. She is Granny Helon to twelve grandchildren: Laura Deanne Kopitke Orsak, Elizabeth Suzanne Kopitke Mason, and William Robert Kopitke; Brooks Jennings LaGree, III, and Lyndsay Kay LaGree Hutchison; Georgia Helon Burnett Martin, Donald Lowrey Burnett, II, James LaGree Burnett, and Brooks LaGree Burnett; Parker Stansell LaGree, Derek James LaGree, and Kristin Ann Clay LaGree. Helon is also survived by eight great grandchildren. Funeral services will be 10 a.m. Wednesday, January 7, 2015 at the First United Methodist Church with Rev. John Morrow officiating. Burial will follow in the Altus City Cemetery under the direction of the Kincannon Funeral Home. The Lagree family will greet friends Tuesday evening from 6 – 8 pm at Kincannon Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to the First United Methodist Church, 317 N Main Street, Altus, OK 73521, the Museum of the Western Prairie, 1100 Memorial Dr, Altus OK 73521-2600, or to the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute Helon LaGree Scholarship Fund, 111 NW 9th Street, Oklahoma City OK 73102.