Mrs. William S. (Mary Ramsey) Flagler

© Chickasha Express-Star

9 March 2005

Submitted by: Sandi Carter

MRS. WILLIAM S. (MARY RAMSEY) FLAGLER

Funeral service for Mary Ramsey Flagler, 101, of Norman, formerly of Chickasha, Oklahoma, will be held at 10:30 a.m., Thursday, March 10, 2005 in the First Presbyterian Church, Chickasha, Oklahoma. Reverend Barbara Hunt will be officiating.

Mary Ramsey Flagler was born February 21, 1904, in Huntsville, Arkansas, the daughter of Peter H. Ramsey and Helen Huntley Corning Ramsey. She died on the 7th day of March, 2005-06. At the age of four she moved with her family from Arkansas to Tyler, Texas. That trip provided one of Mary's earliest memories which was wading through shallow brooks as she and her brother Norman walked behind the covered wagon pulled by the family's mules, Beck and Kate. Mary grew up in Rural east Texas where her father was a carpenter and farmer. Following graduation from high school, Mary attended Sam Houston State Teacher's College at Huntsville, Texas. She taught in the Texas public schools for four years prior to her marriage to Dr. William S. Flagler, April 27, 1927 in the First Presbyterian Church of Tyler. Dr. Robert Hill officiated.

William and Mary established their home in Chickasha, Oklahoma, May 1, 1927. They joined the First Presbyterian Church in Chickasha, June 6, 1927, and held continuous membership thereafter, active in every phase of the church's activities and responsibilities. William was an elder and chaired various committees. Mary was active in the women's organization. Both were loyal in their attendance to church services as well as Sunday school, where Mary alternately served as teacher and student. Mary was a member of the church choir for more than twenty years.

William and Mary gave birth to three sons, William Lewis Flagler, Ralph Hunter Flagler, and Robert Allen Flagler. William and Mary saw to it that all three sons were active and supportive of their church activities, each singing in the church choir before leaving for college. William and Mary assisted three very appreciative sons in obtaining college educations. Lewis graduated from the Palmer College of Chiropractic. Ralph and Robert graduated from the University of Oklahoma. William and Mary experienced the pride and anxiety of parents of sons serving in their country's armed forces, Lewis and Robert as enlisted men in the Army and Ralph as a Major in the Marine Corps serving in Vietnam.

Mary was a charter member of the Chi Beta Delphian Chapter, serving in every office of the study group and hosting innumerable meeting over the years. A special reception honored her for sixty years continuous membership. She was the last of the charter members. Mary was also a charter member of The Grady County Historical Society. Through the years she was a supportive member of the Parent Teachers Association. She served as a substitute teacher in the Chickasha school system. After the three sons graduated from high school, Mary worked at her husband's side as his office receptionist and secretary. When William served as president, Mary was the 'First Lady' of the Chickasha Rotary Club, The Chickasha Roundup Club and the Oklahoma Chiropractic Association.

A hostess in the tradition of the women of the South, Mary sat a beautiful table and filled it with vegetables from the family garden, eggs from their own chickens, milk from the family Guernsey, and meat from the beef, pork, and poultry raised on the family acreage. Mary's traveling was done to visit family with her favorite place always being 'Home.' Mary was an accomplished landscaper. This talent was always reflected by her manicured yard accented with magnolia, pine and pecan trees, azaleas, roses, and a variety of flowers and ornate bushes until her late eighties, she was a daily walker logging in many miles in and around Chickasha. She was an avid reader with the Bible tops on her list of favorite reading.

William preceded Mary in death April 29, 1972. The youngest in a family of eight children with two older half brothers, Mary was preceded in death by her parents, William's parents, and all of Mary's and William's siblings and their spouses except Esta Lee Ramsey, widow of Mary's brother, Dr. Norman B. Ramsey of Yukon.

Mary's son Ralph, a teacher in Moore, Oklahoma, preceded her in death November 13, 1987. Her son Lewis, a chiropractor in Oklahoma City, preceded her in death October 24, 2000. She is survived by her third son, Robert, and his wife, Rita, attorneys in Norman, Oklahoma.

Lewis' first wife, Nel Flagler, and their four children, Cindy Smith, Sandy Wagner, Debbie Flagler, and Nikki Steward, reside in the greater Phoenix area. Cindy is a housewife. Sandy works for the Arizona Child Care Administration. Debbie is an underwriter for Wells Fargo. Nikki works for the Arizona Office of Program Evaluation. Lewis' second wife, Marianne Carey Flagler, preceded Lewis in death.

Ralph's widow, Dr. Sally Flagler, is a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Ralph's oldest child, Lynn Golden, is an attorney in Florida. Ralph's two younger children, Chris and Jessie, attend college in North Carolina.

Robert's son, John, is a Portfolio Manager at Hotchkis and Wiley Capital Management of Los Angeles and resides in Topange, California.

Mary is survived by one niece, Mary Nell Phillips of Oklahoma City, and two nephews, Steve Ramsey of Yukon and Douglas Williams of Arp, Texas, a growing number of great grandchildren, nephews, and nieces and great great grandchildren, and countless dear friends.

Interment will be in the Rose Hill Cemetery in the Flagler plot under the direction of Sevier Funeral Home.

Memorial contributions may be made to the First Presyterian Church of Chickasha.

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