May 11, 1970 – August 10, 2024
Louisa Douglas McCune, a respected philanthropy executive and magazine editor, passed away at the age of 54 on Saturday, August 10, 2024, at her home in Oklahoma City. She was surrounded by her three devoted sons, their father, her extended family, and her beloved dogs and cats.
At the time of her death, Louisa served as the Executive Director of the Kirkpatrick Foundation, where she passionately advocated for the arts and culture, education, animal well-being, environmental conservation, and historic preservation.
Louisa graduated from Enid High School in 1988. She briefly studied at Colorado Mountain College (1988-1989) and the University of Colorado, Boulder (1989-1990), before earning her bachelor’s degree from San Francisco State University in 1992.
Before transitioning into philanthropy, Louisa enjoyed a successful career in journalism. After graduating from college, in 1994, she began as a general assignment reporter for her hometown newspaper, the Enid News & Eagle. A year later, she moved to New York City to join the prestigious internship program at Harper’s Magazine. Over the next few years, she wrote for notable publications, including Worth, George, New York, Green, Mirabella, and American Benefactor magazines.
In 1997, at the age of 27, Louisa returned to Oklahoma as the editor-in-chief of Oklahoma Today, a magazine celebrating the culture, food, places, people, and history of Oklahoma. Under her leadership, the magazine earned three Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Best Magazine awards, two Magazine of the Year awards from the International Regional Magazine Association, and more than 250 other national and state-level awards.
In 2011, following the death of Joan Kirkpatrick, Louisa was appointed by Christian Keesee, Joan’s son and Chairman of the Kirkpatrick Foundation, as the foundation’s Executive Director. As only the third person to hold this position in the foundation’s 69-year history, Louisa quickly made her mark, focusing her attention in the areas of animal well-being and the arts.
Under her direction, the foundation published The Oklahoma Animal Study in 2016, the first comprehensive study of a geographic region and its animal population. She founded and directed the ANIMAL Conference of Ideas, Impact, and Inspiration, a triennial event that began in 2015 as part of the Safe & Humane initiative and organized the Save Lives. Unite Oklahoma event in 2018, the Intersection Conference for the Oklahoma Link Coalition, the Oklahoma Conference for the Humane Treatment of Pigs in 2023 and chaired the Philanthropy Southwest Annual Conference in 2021.
Louisa served as the past board president of Animal Grantmakers in 2020 and a board member of Patrons of OKC Animal Welfare. She also held leadership roles in many state and local organizations, including the Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, the Kirkpatrick Family Fund, and the Rotary Club of Oklahoma City.
Her dedication to animal well-being was recognized when she played a crucial role in the successful passage of MAPS 4, securing funding for a new state-of-the-art animal shelter in Oklahoma City. She was appointed by Mayor David Holt to the MAPS 4 Neighborhood Subcommittee, where she helped shape the future of animal care in the city.
In 2012, Louisa, along with Foundaton Chairman, Chris Kessee co-founded ArtDesk, a contemporary arts magazine published quarterly by the Kirkpatrick Foundation. She also served as the publications editor-in-chief. ArtDesk celebrated its 10-year anniversary in December 2023 at Art Basel in Miami Beach, where it was celebrated as one of the world’s finest art publications.
Throughout her career, Louisa received numerous awards, including the Magazine Publishers of America Thirty Under 30 Award (1999), the Bill Thurman Memorial Media in the Arts Award at the Oklahoma Governor’s Arts Awards (2003), the Achiever Under 40 Award from *The Journal Record* (2007), Enid High School’s Pride of the Plainsman Award (2013), and the Community Service Award from the Dialogue Institute of the Southwest (2014). She was particularly proud of receiving the Paseo Arts Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023.
Louisa was preceded in death by her parents, Dr. Edward A. McCune and Margaret Douglas Rucks McCune. She is survived by her three sons, McCune Everett Elmore (“Mac”), William Waits Rucks Elmore (“Rucks”), and Edward Earthman Elmore (“Edward”), as well as their father, Aaron Chad Elmore, of the home. Louisa is also survived by her stepson, Brantley Elmore, his son, Levi, paternal grandmother Carlene Elmore, and aunt Lisa Green. Survivors also include siblings, Allison Davis, Joseph McCune, and Evelyn Stival, and nine nieces and nephews. Louisa loved and treasured them all.
Louisa leaves behind her beloved dogs, Tara, Luna, Helen, Margaret, and Carl, her cat, Rocka Gray, and the many birds and squirrels that frequented the tree canopy at her home.
Louisa will be laid to rest in a private service at Memorial Park Cemetery in Oklahoma City on Saturday, August 17, 2024. A public memorial will be held at 2:00 PM on August 17, 2024 at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 4400 N. Shartel Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73118. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Louisa Douglas McCune Memorial c/o Security National Bank at 201 W. Broadway, Enid, OK 73701 or the Louisa McCune Family Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center Education Fund at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation (www.occf.org).
