Ruth Konkel

Ruth Brazell Konkel died peacefully in her residence at Methodist Manor in Tulsa on February 19, 2008. She was 97. She was born in Lamont, Grant County, Oklahoma, on October 5, 1910, the third child of Edmund Brazell and Pearl Tebow Brazell. Her father, a wheat farmer, came to Oklahoma in 1893 at the opening of the Cherokee Outlet, and when Oklahoma achieved statehood in 1907 he was elected to the first state senate.

Ruth attended Lamont High School, graduating in 1928. She attended the University of Oklahoma for one year. Later, she took a job as an accountant for the Production Credit Association in Enid, OK. It was in Enid that she met Philip Konkel, who was a geophysicist working for a seismograph crew. They married in 1936 and experienced the mobile life of seismograph crews in those days. Ruth told friends, "On our first wedding anniversary we were making our eleventh move."

Her husband was hired by Marathon Oil in the late 1930s, and in the 1950s Ruth and Phil lived in Libya for a year, where he helped bring in several large oil fields; they also lived for a number of years in Findlay, Ohio. In 1961, still with Marathon, they moved to Tulsa. Ruth was a member of the Geologic and Geophysical Auxiliary, serving at one time as its president. She was an active member of the Boston Avenue Methodist Church in Tulsa. She and her husband loved to go fly fishing at fishing camps in Colorado and Arkansas. Ruth was an ardent bridge player at. She was also the devoted caregiver to several feral cats who could always get a free meal on her deck. She was proud of her Oklahoma roots and a civic booster of Tulsa, recommending its lovely museums to out-of-state visitors, as well as such delicacies as the fried pickles and mushrooms at Goldie's restaurant.

Ruth was predeceased by her sister, Helen Brazell, her brother, Reid Brazell, and her husband of 62 years, Philip, who died in 1998. She is survived by her nephews James Brazell (his wife Kathy), Ewing NJ; Harold Hart (his wife Peggy), Ashburn, VA; Harry Konkel (his wife Susie) Portland, ME; Tek Konkel (his wife Peggy), Port Huron, MI; Philip Konkel, Seattle WA; and Neil Konkel (son David), Antioch CA.

A memorial service will be held at the Oklahoma Methodist Manor in Tulsa 10:00 A.M. Monday, March 3 and a private family Memorial Service April 9 at Boston Avenue United Methodist Church. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent to The Boston Avenue Methodist Church, 1301 S. Boston Ave, for the Oklahoma Methodist Manor.