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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