More detail on this person: September 1, 1944 -
November 18, 2013 OKLAHOMA CITY Surrounded
by his family, Stephen Paul Garrett, 69, of
Oklahoma City died Monday, Nov. 18. Steve leaves
behind a legacy of community service, faith and
love of family. Funeral services will be held on
Saturday, Nov. 23 at 10:00 a.m. at Westminster
Presbyterian Church in Oklahoma City. Steve was
born Sept. 1, 1944 in Granite, Okla., and
graduated from High School in Mangum, Okla. His
father is The Honorable James Paul Garrett and his
mother was the late Nedra Lee Wilson Garrett.
After graduating from Mangum High School, Steve
earned a Bachelor of Business Administration
degree from the University of Oklahoma, where he
was a member of Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity, and
a Juris Doctorate from Oklahoma City University.
He married Linda Dianne Dozier on June 24, 1966,
in Oklahoma City and together they raised three
children. Steve was a Captain in the United States
Army and served as a helicopter pilot during the
Vietnam War from 1968 to 1972. He earned the
Army Commendation Medal, Bronze Star and ten
additional air medals while serving our nation. In
1969, he was nominated for the honor of the
Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for heroism or
extraordinary achievement while participating in
aerial flight. When he returned from the war,
Steve joined the Oklahoma Insurance Department
where he served as Chief Examiner and Assistant
Commissioner. He joined the Insurance Company of
North America in Philadelphia and then Atlanta in
the late 1970s before returning to Oklahoma City
with his family in 1981 when Steve accepted the
position of Senior Vice President and General
Counsel at American Fidelity Corp., a position he
held for thirty-two years. Steve served in
numerous executive leadership positions in the
insurance industry including Chairman of the
Oklahoma Life and Health Insurance Guaranty
Association, President and Director of the
Association of Oklahoma Life Insurance
Companies, Chairman of the Oklahoma Property
and Casualty Insurance Guaranty Association,
President of the Association of Property and
Casualty Insurance Companies, Chairman of the
House Counsel section of the Oklahoma Bar
Association and was a member of several
committees of the American Council of Life
Insurance and America's Health Insurance Plans.
Steve was passionate about community service and
was proud to be a member of the Board of Trustees
at Oklahoma City University, Past District
Governor of Rotary International, Past President
of Rotary Club 29, Past Chairman and Past
President of the Oklahoma City Rotary Foundation,
Past Chairman of the Oklahoma City Command of
the Salvation Army Board of Directors and a
Director of the Oklahoma Symphony Orchestra. Left
behind to cherish his memory are: his wife, Linda
Dianne Garrett; their three children and their
spouses: William Braden Garrett, his wife Betty
Jane Harvey Garrett, their daughter Abigail Mae
Garrett and their son Wilson Blakely Garrett;
Lizanne Garrett Reger, her husband Joseph Clark
Reger and their son James Clark Reger; Marion
Garrett Parke, her husband David Wilkin Parke III
and their son David Wilkin Parke IV; his father
The Honorable James Paul Garrett; and his sisters
and their husbands: Linda and Les Ellason and
Susan and Leon Christian. The Garrett family would
like to express their sincerest appreciation to
the doctors and staff at Mercy Health Center. In
lieu of flowers, gifts can be made to The Stephen
P. Garrett Memorial Fund at the Oklahoma City
Community Foundation online at
http://www.occf.org/garrett or by mail P.O. Box
1146, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73101-1146.
http//www.occf.org/garrett
Published in The Oklahoman on Nov. 21, 2013
This information was last updated 06/07/2013
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