Elizabeth Katherine Blankenship

Elizabeth “Libby” Katherine Warren Blankenship was born in Tulsa on December 21, 1929 and died April 13, 2025. She attended the University of Oklahoma studying Elementary Education, and earning her bachelor’s degree. She was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma where she met many of the women who would remain her lifelong friends. She met her husband, G.T. Blankenship Jr., as well. She and G.T. married on June 8, 1951 and celebrated 72 years of marriage in 2023, prior to his death on April 20, 2024.

Libby was a formidable Oklahoma City civic, education and health care advocate. For many years, she spearheaded efforts to improve much-needed support for Oklahoma’s students, teachers, academic programs, educational facilities and other endeavors. Additionally, Libby was instrumental in sustaining support for medical advancement and research in Oklahoma. For almost three decades, she was a member of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation board of directors and was a supporter of the OMRF’s Fleming Scholars Program, an initiative created to provide Oklahoma high school and college students with the opportunity to obtain hands-on experience in biomedical research.

In keeping with her many years of service on the board of the Oklahoma division of the American Cancer Society, she founded Camp Live a Dream in 1987. This camp, sponsored by the ACS, serves as a place of healing for children whose lives are affected by cancer. Under her insight and direction, Libby helped create the OU Women’s Philanthropy Network, a group dedicated to promoting philanthropic education, leadership and advocacy to empower women as active participants of giving, and the Women’s Foundation of Oklahoma, which invests in the economic self-sufficiency and in the future of women. Her efforts resulted in enhanced opportunities for students to overcome hardship and attend college, improved academic programs, and some of the finest resources available for education.

Throughout her life, Libby served on the boards of several other organizations, including the Hough Ear Institute, Dean A. McGee Eye Institute and the William K. Warren Foundation as well as Oklahoma Alliance for Artisans, YWCA, OU Health Sciences Center Board of Visitors, Legal Aid, Junior League of Oklahoma City, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Winter Ball, and Ballet Oklahoma.

Along with her husband, she made possible a faculty chair on the Norman campus at OU in the history of liberty and a professorship in medical breast oncology at the OU Cancer Institute, in addition to providing essential leadership for other academic initiatives. In 2004, she was honored by the University of Oklahoma with a Doctor of Humane Letters.

In her free time, Libby enjoyed bridge, golf, tennis, her December birthday group, Tuesday breakfast club, the hamburger girls, time at Grand Lake and travel. She and G.T. spent almost 40 years wintering in Kona, Hawaii, where they loved golfing, hiking, and spending time at the beach with friends. They spent many Augusts in La Jolla, California with family and friends.

In addition to her husband, G.T., she was preceded in death by her parents, Natalie and W.K. Warren; her siblings, Marilyn Vandever, Jean Marie Warren, Dorothy King and Natalie Bryant. She is survived by her three children: Matthew Steven Blankenship and his wife Miriam of Dallas, Elizabeth Ann Blankenship of La Jolla, California; and Julie Kay Blankenship and her husband Richard Klingenberg of Oklahoma City; 7 grandchildren: Caroline Simpson, Philip Marks, Teddy Mundt, Matthew Blankenship, Natalie Wolfe, Travis Blankenship, and Madeline Blankenship; 11 great grandchildren: Kai and Thayer Simpson; Emilio, Ellie, and Oliver Marks; Kaden, Cooper and Kenzie Mundt; Jack and Henry Wolfe; and Sophie Blankenship; and siblings: Bill Warren of Tulsa and Pat Swindle of Palm Beach, Florida; as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

The family would like to thank caregivers Jorge Sarrosa, Cindy Gallardo, Daniel Owino, Jackie Mitchell, Leoni San Diego and Dr. Randy Morgan for their loving care of Libby.

A private family service will be at Nichols Hills United Methodist Church. In lieu of flowers, memorials to Nichols Hills United Methodist Church or a charity of your choice would be appreciated.