Mary Kathleen Marks

Mary Kathleen O'Meara Marks was born August 31, 1940 to John & Margaret O'Meara (nee Kanaly) in Caldwell, Kansas. Kathleen was raised in Oklahoma City along side her brother & four sisters, attending grade school at both Corpus Christi and John Carroll, eventually graduating from Catholic High (now Bishop McGuinness) in 1958. After high school, Kathleen attended St. Joseph's in Minnesota where she pursued a degree while starting her journey towards becoming a nun. However, Kathleen eventually realized the convent was not the path for her and she soon set out for a life full of family, friends and adventure. Kathleen found her calling working in the tourism industry around the world for resorts in Boston & the Bahamas, even helping open Disney World. However, her favorite place to promote was always her home state of Oklahoma. Kathleen served as Director of the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce before becoming the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department. She truly loved traveling the world promoting everything our great state had to offer. As the unofficial "Ms. Oklahoma" she could tell you something about every small town, whether it be a state park, cultural festival or chili cook-off. However, the greatest connection she ever made through her job was meeting the love of her life, Fred. They spent the next thirty years together as best friends traveling the United States and Europe, throwing over the top Mardi Gras parties and making countless trips to their favorite spot, Broken Bow. While Kathleen was passionate about her career, her greatest joy was always her family. Together with Fred they raised a family full of love, always happiest when their dining room table was crammed full of chairs, dishes were piled high in the sink, and stories and laughter filled the air because all of "their girls" were home. Kathleen is preceded in death by her parents John and Margaret O'Meara, husband Fred Marks, brother Jack O'Meara and sister Maggie Miller. She is survived by her adored sisters, Patricia Schmidt (Clarence) of Caldwell, KS, Rita Mullins (Dale) of Oklahoma City and Dr. Michelle O'Meara of Tulsa. She is also survived by her beloved daughters Theresa Allen and Barbie Jones (Keith) both of Oklahoma City, Karen Willis (Tyler) of Springdale, AR, Whitney Fletcher (Mike) of Moore and Elizabeth Velez (Cano) of St. Cloud, FL. Kathleen was also an adoring grandma to Chelsea, Katie, Milo, Payton, Owen, Piper and Draco and great-grandma to Olivia and Cal. She also leaves behind numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and friends all of whom she truly cherished. The family would like to thank everyone who has called, texted, sent cards or lent a helping hand over the past few months. In lieu of flowers, donations may be directed to the St. Charles Borromeo General Fund or ALS Association. A visitation will be Wednesday, December 2, 2020 from 10 am to 6 pm followed immediately by an Evening Prayer Service/Rosary both at Smith & Kernke N. May Ave. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday, December 3, 2020 at 11 AM at St. Charles Borromeo Church.