Mary Carol Gilbert

Mary Carol Gilbert, 84, passed away at Arbor House Reminisce on Friday, November 27, 2020. She was born on October 10, 1936, in Sulphur, OK to Opal Victor Leonard and Mary Elizabeth Anderson Leonard. Her parents divorced when she was about 5 after which her mother, Mary, raised Mary Carol and her younger sister, Judith. Her mother’s family, the Andersons, became the larger family in which Mary Carol and Judith grew up.

Upon entering the University of Oklahoma in 1954, Mary Carol developed into a passionate lover of the arts. She studied piano with Spencer Norton and voice with Joseph Benton. She used her music degree to teach scores of piano students and to direct children’s choirs.

At OU, Mary Carol met and married M. Charles Gilbert, a geology major from Lawton, OK. Dr. E. K. Feaver of Norman’s First Presbyterian Church officiated the wedding in Sulphur on September 6, 1958, with Mr. Benton singing.

Then Mary Carol’s life moved ahead in time segments built around Charles’s career:
1958-60 in Norman while he completed the M.S. in geology. She helped support them by teaching piano lessons.
1960-65 in Los Angeles for Charles’s Ph.D at UCLA. Their family grew with the birth of three girls: Karen, Ann, and Sara.
1965-68 in Silver Spring, MD, for his Post-Doc at the Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington. Mary Carol took care of the family, and son David was born.
1968-83 in Blacksburg, VA, where Charles joined the faculty of Geosciences at Virginia Tech. Mary Carol taught piano and started the children’s choir at Blacksburg Presbyterian Church. Additionally, she worked with other churches to begin an annual Blacksburg Children’s Choir Festival with nationally known guest conductors.

Mary Carol was an excellent and adventurous cook, and loved to prepare delicious food. She gave many dinner parties for friends, family, and Charles’s professional colleagues. She and the other Geoscience faculty spouses started a reception for the graduating seniors/grad students and their families each year. She and a good friend hosted an annual Messiah Sing at her home. During the 15 years spent in Blacksburg, Mary Carol and Charles made dear friends who provided great comfort when daughter Ann died in 1974.

1983-90 in College Station, TX, where Charles joined the Geology Department at Texas A & M. Mary Carol started a children’s choir at College Station Presbyterian Church while attending First Presbyterian in Bryan. From 1986-89, they were in Germantown, MD, while Charles worked at the U.S. Department of Energy. There, they participated in Chevy Chase Presbyterian Church and enjoyed their proximity to the nation’s capital.

1990-2020 in Norman, OK, where Charles became Director of OU’s School of Geology and Geophysics. Mary Carol stepped right in to help out at the College of Fine Arts, particularly in the School of Music. She quickly became involved with the Music Theatre/Opera Guild working continuously with that support group, serving as President for a term. In 1995, she established a voice scholarship in the School of Music. She received the OU Regents Award for her support of university arts in 1997. She helped initiate a new group, the Friends of Music, for the School of Music itself, serving as the second President. Mary Carol was also an avid supporter of Dance Partners for the School of Dance. Later, she was invited to join the College of Fine Arts Board of Visitors.

Mary Carol was involved in the larger arts community, serving on the Norman Arts & Humanities Board, including a term as President. In 2000, she received the “Person in the Arts” award. At the state level, Mary Carol was a Board Member of the Oklahoma Arts Institute.

In local affairs, she joined Assistance League in the early 1990’s and was very supportive of its School Bell program. Mary Carol became a P.E.O. member in Blacksburg around 1980 and remained an active member for the rest of her life, ending with Chapter
BP in Norman. As a couple, she and Charles enjoyed membership in Wabunaki, an OU faculty club, as well as the Reviewer’s Club of Norman.

When Charles was School Director, Mary Carol hosted numerous dinners, especially for new Geology & Geophysics faculty, and often for visiting guests of the School. Her support was unstinting. Together they made a great team; Charles’s professional activities meshed perfectly with Mary Carol’s creative abilities and enjoyment of entertaining.

In Blacksburg, Mary Carol and Charles started a tradition of having friends over for soup and bread on New Year’s Day. It was an annual event until 1999. By then, the guest list had grown so large that folks were invited for one of three specific time slots. Each year
Mary Carol baked about 18 different breads and made about 12 different soups. All this preparation took weeks. She always looked forward to this party with great anticipation.

Mary Carol was a long time member of First Presbyterian Church, serving as an Elder twice. She sang in the choir from 1954 to 1960, again in 1977-78 when Charles took a sabbatical from Virginia Tech to the Oklahoma Geological Survey, and in 1990-91 on arriving back in Norman. She always valued a strong church music program.

Mary Carol developed Parkinson’s which proceeded slowly for several years but then she began to suffer from memory loss and disorientation. She went into hospice care on September 19 and moved to Reminisce on September 23. The family would like to thank Hearts at Home, Oklahoma Palliative & Hospice Care, and Arbor House Reminisce for their care during these times. Mary Carol was a fiercely loyal and always loving wife, mother, grandmother, and friend. She will be missed.

Mary Carol’s parents, Mary Leonard and Vic Leonard, and her sister, Judith Gilbert, and brother-in-law, Dale Gilbert, are deceased. She is survived by her husband of 62 years, Charles; her three children: Karen (George) Long, Sara (Ted) Brooke, David (Mary Payne) Gilbert; eight grandchildren: Matthew (Savannah Mitchell) Long, Cameron (Elizabeth) Long, Elizabeth (Evan) Edwards, Jackson Brooke, Walker Brooke, Isabel Brooke, Anna Gilbert, John Gilbert; and two great grandchildren: Julia Long, Benjamin Long. She is also survived by her nephews: Victor (Frida) Gilbert and Darrin Gilbert.

Cremation has taken place. Mary Carol’s ashes are in the First Presbyterian Church Columbarium. The family asks that contributions in her memory be made out to the OU Foundation, 100 Timberdell Rd, Norman, 73019, for either the Mary Carol Gilbert Voice Scholarship (Fund #41099), or to the Music Theatre/Opera Guild (Fund #41016).