Letty Jo Brundage

On February 25, 2009, Oklahoma lost a native daughter "“ and the OU Sooners lost a devoted fan - when Letty Jo Brundage died at home in Oklahoma City after a brave struggle with cancer. She was 84. Born in Haileyville on March 31,1924 to Tom and Mattie Lee Culley, she has been known to all as "Pinky" since a college professor coined the nickname to tease her about her red hair. After she graduated from Baylor University in Waco, Texas, Pinky was such a star in her first job as a flight attendant for American Airlines that, in 1946, she was named the airline"™s "Stewardess of the Year." When her college sweetheart returned from World War II, they married and moved to Austin, Texas to begin a family. In 1958, Pinky moved with her two children to Shawnee, where she worked as a medical librarian before joining the county"™s Department of Public Welfare. She was then a single working mother "“ in the days before the term was common "“ and spent countless after-work hours at ballet classes and football practices. After her two children - Sherry and Tom Jones - graduated from Shawnee High School, she moved to Oklahoma City to continue her professional work with the Oklahoma Department of Public Welfare. In retirement, she was a volunteer for several organizations, including Mercy Hospital, while she supported the careers of her daughter, a documentary film producer in Washington, D.C., and her son, an attorney in Seattle, Washington. She was also devoted to her granddaughters, Andrea and Erin Jones. "Pinky"™s dedication to the underprivileged throughout her life has had a significant impact on her children and her grandchildren," her family said. In addition to her two children, their spouses, and her two granddaughters, Pinky is survived by her brother, Father Thomas Culley, who resides in New Orleans, Louisiana. A private family service celebrating her life will be held in the garden of her home in Oklahoma City on Saturday, March 7th, 2009. Memorial contributions may be made to the Oklahoma Women"™s Coalition, PO Box 58097, Oklahoma City, OK 73112. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Letty Jo Brundage please visit our Sympathy Store.