Philanthropist, Civic leader, daughter of late Tulsa oilman Bill Skelly and wife of attorney and business executive Harold Stuart. She married Harold Stuart on June 6, 1938. He has worked as a broadcasting executive, civic leader and former Oklahoma Common Pleas Court judge. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1983. Born Joanna Jane Skelly in Marion, Ind., Mrs. Stuart moved with her parents to Tulsa at an early age, her son Jon Stuart said. She attended Holland Hall High School and graduated with the school's second class Mrs. Stuart was the first of three generations to attend the school her father helped found. She then went on to attend the Miss Finch Finishing School in New York City and studied painting with Jane Freeman in New York. Art and music played a large part in Mrs. Stuart's life. In an effort to protect the view of the Osage Hills surrounding Gilcrease Museum, she and her husband purchased the land immediately northwest of the museum in 1992. The area was named Stuart Park in their honor. She lived in Tulsa most of her adult life, only leaving to attend school and when her husband worked in Washington, D.C. In March 1950, she was named "Beauty of the Week" in Washington, D.C. A story in the Washington Times-Herald featuring the nomination described her as a "petite, brunette, blue-eyed" wife of Stuart, who was sworn in the year before as assistant secretary of the Air Force. The Stuarts returned to Tulsa from Washington in 1955. The couple took control of radio station KVOO and television station KVOO-TV after her father's death in 1957. Mrs. Stuart was a member of the Tulsa Junior League, former member of the Tulsa Philharmonic Society board of directors, and a former member of the Philbrook Art Museum. In 1958, she served as chairman of the Philharmonic Society's Cinderella Ball. She also was co-chairman of the society's maintenance fund campaign in 1956. She had a fine-gift shop called LeMarquis at Utica Square for many years. Philanthropy ran in Mrs. Stuart's family. Antiques and furnishings valued at over $28,000 were donated to the University of Tulsa by the Stuarts in 1984. Included were a Waterford chandelier and a rosewood table which were placed in the Satin Rare Book Room of McFarlin Library. Her husband is a former TU trustee.
Bio by: Bobby Kelley
Bio by: Bobby Kelley
Philanthropist, Civic leader, daughter of late Tulsa oilman Bill Skelly and wife of attorney and business executive Harold Stuart. She married Harold Stuart on June 6, 1938. He has worked as a broadcasting executive, civic leader and former Oklahoma Common Pleas Court judge. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1983. Born Joanna Jane Skelly in Marion, Ind., Mrs. Stuart moved with her parents to Tulsa at an early age, her son Jon Stuart said. She attended Holland Hall High School and graduated with the school's second class Mrs. Stuart was the first of three generations to attend the school her father helped found. She then went on to attend the Miss Finch Finishing School in New York City and studied painting with Jane Freeman in New York. Art and music played a large part in Mrs. Stuart's life. In an effort to protect the view of the Osage Hills surrounding Gilcrease Museum, she and her husband purchased the land immediately northwest of the museum in 1992. The area was named Stuart Park in their honor. She lived in Tulsa most of her adult life, only leaving to attend school and when her husband worked in Washington, D.C. In March 1950, she was named "Beauty of the Week" in Washington, D.C. A story in the Washington Times-Herald featuring the nomination described her as a "petite, brunette, blue-eyed" wife of Stuart, who was sworn in the year before as assistant secretary of the Air Force. The Stuarts returned to Tulsa from Washington in 1955. The couple took control of radio station KVOO and television station KVOO-TV after her father's death in 1957. Mrs. Stuart was a member of the Tulsa Junior League, former member of the Tulsa Philharmonic Society board of directors, and a former member of the Philbrook Art Museum. In 1958, she served as chairman of the Philharmonic Society's Cinderella Ball. She also was co-chairman of the society's maintenance fund campaign in 1956. She had a fine-gift shop called LeMarquis at Utica Square for many years. Philanthropy ran in Mrs. Stuart's family. Antiques and furnishings valued at over $28,000 were donated to the University of Tulsa by the Stuarts in 1984. Included were a Waterford chandelier and a rosewood table which were placed in the Satin Rare Book Room of McFarlin Library. Her husband is a former TU trustee.
Bio by: Bobby Kelley
Bio by: Bobby Kelley
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