Edith Killgore Kirkpatrick
Encyclopedia
Edith Aurelia Killgore Kirkpatrick (born November 14, 1918) is a retired music
educator from Baton Rouge
who served on the Louisiana Board of Regents
for Higher Education from 1977—1989, the superboard which must approve education budgets presented to the state legislature
. She is also a former member of the executive board of the Louisiana Baptist Convention
. She is the widow
of businessman Claude Kirkpatrick
, a former Democratic
state representative
(1952—1960) from Jennings
, the seat of Jefferson Davis Parish in southwestern Louisiana
. Claude Kirkpatrick also ran for governor in the 1963 primary
.
in Claiborne Parish about halfway between Shreveport
and Monroe
in North Louisiana
. Thomas Killgore was primarily a cotton
farmer but also operated a general store
with a brother and had in his younger years been a rural
mail carrier
. African American
sharecroppers also lived on the Killgore estate and engaged in truck farming and maintained cows and chickens. Peach
es were also grown in the red-clay hills located west of Ruston
, which holds the annual Louisiana "Peach Festival". Kirkpatrick still owns and maintains the family plantation
house, the Killgore House, also known as the Rocky Springs Plantation, built in 1859 and included in the National Register of Historic Places
. The structure is at the intersection of Louisiana Highway 2
and Highway 518 in Lisbon.
Kirkpatrick's middle name "Aurelia" is the same as that of her paternal grandmother, originally Aurelia Williams, the daughter of a Methodist preacher. Kirkpatrick graduated from Lisbon High School in 1934; the formerly all-white school closed in 1970, when the remaining segregated
Louisiana public schools underwent the final stages of U.S. District Court-mandated desegregation
.
Kirkpatrick's paternal uncle
, John Killgore, a physician
, was a co-founder with Dr. Charles Russell Reynolds (1858–1919), of Minden Medical Center in Minden
, the seat of Webster Parish to the west of Lisbon. Her maternal aunt
, Eloise Melton Starr (1901–1978), was a long-time educator in the Webster Parish public schools. Lloyd C. Starr (1899–1982), Eloise's husband and Kirkpatrick's uncle by marriage, was a former educator who served on the Webster Parish School Board after he embarked on a second career as an investments salesman in Minden. Dr. Reynolds' daughter, Sadie Elouise Reynolds (1903–1997), was another prominent Webster Parish educator and a specialist in Louisiana history
.
On August 21, 1938, Edith Killgore married Claude Kirkpatrick, whom she had met as a fellow student at Louisiana College
in Pineville
in Rapides Parish in Central Louisiana
. She graduated as valedictorian
in their common 1938 class. The Kirkpatricks had four children: Claude Kent (1942–1945), Thomas Killgore (1944–2009), Edith Kay (born 1946), and Charles Kris (born 1948). In 1957, the Kirkpatricks were named the first "All-American Family" of Louisiana as a result of a search conducted by The Book of Knowledge, the Boys Clubs, and a panel of representatives from service and civic organizations. Sandra Futrell Kirkpatrick, widow of Thomas Killgore Kirkpatrick, is the daughter of the late P. Elmo Futrell, Jr.
, the mayor
of Pineville during the early 1960s.
Shortly after she procured her bachelor of arts
degree from Louisiana College in 1938, Kirkpatrick studied for a 10-week summer session at the Juilliard School of Music in New York City
. She did not receive her master of music degree until 1965, when she completed the requirements from Louisiana State University
in Baton Rouge. She was a private voice teacher in Sulphur
and then Jennings from 1939-1959. She taught music at McNeese State University
in Lake Charles
from 1955-1958. She was also the choir director for Baptist
churches in Sulphur, Jennings, and Baton Rouge from 1938-1995. She was a visiting assistant professor at LSU for the 1967-1968 academic year.
for the seat. In 1977, Edwards appointed her to the newly-established Board of Regents, the superboard under a new Louisiana State Constitution of 1974
. She served in that capacity until 1990. Kirkpatrick worked to encourage music, art
, and foreign language
instruction in the public schools as a qualification for an incoming college student to receive a Regent scholarship
. The regents at the time also worked on the first master plan for higher education in the state.
In 1959, Kirkpatrick headed the woman's division for southwestern Louisiana campaign to elect James Houston "Jimmie" Davis
to a second nonconsecutive term as governor of Louisiana. Like the Kirkpatricks, Davis was Baptist and an alumnus of Louisiana College. Davis and Mrs. Kirkpatrick were each active in the field of music, he as a singer of secular and sacred music, and she as an educator. Claude Kirkpatrick left the legislature and served as Director of Public Works in the second Davis administration and worked on the establishment of Toledo Bend Reservoir
. In 1963, Mrs. Kirkpatrick headed the women's division of her husband's unsuccessful gubernatorial primary campaign. During that time, she published a short book of favorite songs titled Louisiana Let's Sing in honor of her husband's candidacy.
from 1970-1975. She served on the Baptist state convention based in Alexandria
, the seat of Rapides Parish. From 1969-1995, she was also chairman of the editorial board and a writer for Music Clubs Magazine, based in Indianapolis
, Indiana
.
Kirkpatrick over the years has been affiliated with the Baton Rouge Arts Council, the Community Fund for the Arts, the Red Cross, the Young Men's Christian Association, the Parent-Teacher Association
, the Baton Rouge chapter of the National Conference of Christians and Jews
, since renamed the National Conference for Community and Justice. She was the founder and first chairman of the Youth Orchestra of the Baton Rouge Symphony.
In 1961, Louisiana College, presented Kirkpatrick with its Distinguished Alumni Award. In 1980, Louisiana College granted her its honorary doctorate degree. From 1960-1963, she was state president of Louisiana Baptist Women's Missions. In addition, she is a member of the National Federation of Music and served on the executive board of the group from 1979-1995. Her other organizations include Mortar Board
, the first all-women's honor society, Omicron Delta Kappa
, Sigma Alpha Iota
music society, and Phi Kappa Phi
honor society.
Kirkpatrick is retired in Baton Rouge, where her two younger children, Edith and Charles, are practicing attorneys
. The older son, Thomas, a retired military officer and lawyer, contracted cancer
in 2002 and died at the age of sixty-five in 2009. Endowed professorships in music in Kirkpatrick's name are offered at both Louisiana College and LSU. There is also a Claude Kent Kirkpatrick Scholarship in Health and Physical Education at Louisiana College.
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
educator from Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
who served on the Louisiana Board of Regents
Louisiana Board of Regents
The Louisiana Board of Regents is a government agency in the U.S. state of Louisiana that is responsible for coordination of all public higher education in the state...
for Higher Education from 1977—1989, the superboard which must approve education budgets presented to the state legislature
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
. She is also a former member of the executive board of the Louisiana Baptist Convention
Louisiana Baptist Convention
The Louisiana Baptist Convention is an association of Baptist churches in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, the Convention is composed of approximately 1,595 member congregations representing 869,490 members ....
. She is the widow
Widow
A widow is a woman whose spouse has died, while a widower is a man whose spouse has died. The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed widowhood or occasionally viduity. The adjective form is widowed...
of businessman Claude Kirkpatrick
Claude Kirkpatrick
Claude Kirkpatrick was a diversified businessman who served two terms in the Louisiana House of Representatives , worked to establish Toledo Bend Reservoir through his directorship of the state Department of Public Works , and was the administrator and then president of Baton Rouge General Medical...
, a former Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
state representative
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
(1952—1960) from Jennings
Jennings, Louisiana
Jennings is a small city in and the parish seat of Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana, United States, near Lake Charles. The population was 10,986 at the 2000 census....
, the seat of Jefferson Davis Parish in southwestern Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. Claude Kirkpatrick also ran for governor in the 1963 primary
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
.
Early years, education, family
Kirkpatrick was born to Thomas Morton Killgore and the former Bess Blanche Melton in LisbonLisbon, Louisiana
Lisbon is a village in Claiborne Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 162 at the 2000 census. Lisbon is located east of the parish seat of Homer....
in Claiborne Parish about halfway between Shreveport
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
and Monroe
Monroe, Louisiana
Monroe is a city in and the parish seat of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 53,107, making it the eighth largest city in Louisiana. A July 1, 2007, United States Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 51,208, but 51,636...
in North Louisiana
North Louisiana
North Louisiana is a region in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The region has two metropolitan areas: Shreveport-Bossier City and Monroe-West Monroe....
. Thomas Killgore was primarily a cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
farmer but also operated a general store
General store
A general store, general merchandise store, or village shop is a rural or small town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, sometimes in a small space, where people from the town and surrounding rural areas come to purchase all their general...
with a brother and had in his younger years been a rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
mail carrier
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
. African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
sharecroppers also lived on the Killgore estate and engaged in truck farming and maintained cows and chickens. Peach
Peach
The peach tree is a deciduous tree growing to tall and 6 in. in diameter, belonging to the subfamily Prunoideae of the family Rosaceae. It bears an edible juicy fruit called a peach...
es were also grown in the red-clay hills located west of Ruston
Ruston, Louisiana
Ruston is a city in and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 20,546 at the 2000 census. Ruston is near the eastern border of the Ark-La-Tex and is the home of Louisiana Tech University. Its economy caters to its college population...
, which holds the annual Louisiana "Peach Festival". Kirkpatrick still owns and maintains the family plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
house, the Killgore House, also known as the Rocky Springs Plantation, built in 1859 and included in the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. The structure is at the intersection of Louisiana Highway 2
Louisiana Highway 2
Louisiana Highway 2 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It runs in a west to east direction, beginning at State Highway 49 and ending at an intersection with U.S. Highway 65 in East Carroll Parish...
and Highway 518 in Lisbon.
Kirkpatrick's middle name "Aurelia" is the same as that of her paternal grandmother, originally Aurelia Williams, the daughter of a Methodist preacher. Kirkpatrick graduated from Lisbon High School in 1934; the formerly all-white school closed in 1970, when the remaining segregated
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
Louisiana public schools underwent the final stages of U.S. District Court-mandated desegregation
Desegregation
Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups usually referring to races. This is most commonly used in reference to the United States. Desegregation was long a focus of the American Civil Rights Movement, both before and after the United States Supreme Court's decision in...
.
Kirkpatrick's paternal uncle
Uncle
An uncle is a type of familial relationship.Uncle may also refer to:* Uncle , by J. P. Martin* U.N.C.L.E., a fictional organization in the TV series The Man from U.N.C.L.E....
, John Killgore, a physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, was a co-founder with Dr. Charles Russell Reynolds (1858–1919), of Minden Medical Center in Minden
Minden, Louisiana
Minden is a city in the American state of Louisiana. It serves as the parish seat of Webster Parish and is located twenty-eight miles east of Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish. The population, which has been stable since 1960, was 13,027 at the 2000 census...
, the seat of Webster Parish to the west of Lisbon. Her maternal aunt
Aunt
An aunt is a person who is the sister or sister-in-law of a parent. A man with an equivalent relationship is an uncle, and the reciprocal relationship is that of a nephew or niece....
, Eloise Melton Starr (1901–1978), was a long-time educator in the Webster Parish public schools. Lloyd C. Starr (1899–1982), Eloise's husband and Kirkpatrick's uncle by marriage, was a former educator who served on the Webster Parish School Board after he embarked on a second career as an investments salesman in Minden. Dr. Reynolds' daughter, Sadie Elouise Reynolds (1903–1997), was another prominent Webster Parish educator and a specialist in Louisiana history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
.
On August 21, 1938, Edith Killgore married Claude Kirkpatrick, whom she had met as a fellow student at Louisiana College
Louisiana College
Louisiana College is a private institution of higher education located in Pineville, Louisiana, affiliated with the Louisiana Baptist Convention, serving a student body of approximately 1,300 students. The college operates on a semester system, with two shorter summer terms...
in Pineville
Pineville, Louisiana
Pineville is a city in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is adjacent to the city of Alexandria, and is part of that city's Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 13,829 at the 2000 census....
in Rapides Parish in Central Louisiana
Central Louisiana
Central Louisiana , also known as the Crossroads region, is the part of Louisiana that includes the following parishes: Allen Parish, Beauregard Parish, Catahoula Parish, Concordia Parish, Grant Parish, La Salle Parish, Natchitoches Parish, Rapides Parish, Sabine Parish and Vernon Parish.The five...
. She graduated as valedictorian
Valedictorian
Valedictorian is an academic title conferred upon the student who delivers the closing or farewell statement at a graduation ceremony. Usually, the valedictorian is the highest ranked student among those graduating from an educational institution...
in their common 1938 class. The Kirkpatricks had four children: Claude Kent (1942–1945), Thomas Killgore (1944–2009), Edith Kay (born 1946), and Charles Kris (born 1948). In 1957, the Kirkpatricks were named the first "All-American Family" of Louisiana as a result of a search conducted by The Book of Knowledge, the Boys Clubs, and a panel of representatives from service and civic organizations. Sandra Futrell Kirkpatrick, widow of Thomas Killgore Kirkpatrick, is the daughter of the late P. Elmo Futrell, Jr.
P. Elmo Futrell, Jr.
Perry Elmo Futrell, Jr. , was a real estate appraiser who served from 1962-1966 as the Democratic mayor of the small city of Pineville, located east of the Red River across from Alexandria in Rapides Parish in central Louisiana.Futrell was born in Pollock in Grant Parish north of Pineville to Perry...
, the mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Pineville during the early 1960s.
Shortly after she procured her bachelor of arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree from Louisiana College in 1938, Kirkpatrick studied for a 10-week summer session at the Juilliard School of Music in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. She did not receive her master of music degree until 1965, when she completed the requirements from Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
in Baton Rouge. She was a private voice teacher in Sulphur
Sulphur, Louisiana
Sulphur is a city in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 22,512 at the 2000 census. Sulphur is a suburb of Lake Charles, and is part of the Lake Charles Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
and then Jennings from 1939-1959. She taught music at McNeese State University
McNeese State University
McNeese State University is a public university located in Lake Charles, Louisiana, in the United States. Founded in 1939 as a junior college, McNeese experienced growth due to economic activity in the region. It adopted its present name in 1970....
in Lake Charles
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Located in Calcasieu Parish, a major cultural, industrial, and educational center in the southwest region of the state, and one of the most important in...
from 1955-1958. She was also the choir director for Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
churches in Sulphur, Jennings, and Baton Rouge from 1938-1995. She was a visiting assistant professor at LSU for the 1967-1968 academic year.
Kirkpatrick in politics
In 1975, Kirkpatrick ran for a seat on the state Board of Trustee for Higher Education but was defeated. Thereafter, Governor Edwin Washington Edwards, acting on the requests of hundreds of her loyal supporters, named Kirkpatrick to one of the appointed slots on the board. Edwards had supported Kirkpatrick's opponent in the jungle primaryJungle primary
A nonpartisan blanket primary is a primary election in which all candidates for elected office run in the same primary regardless of political party. Under this system, the top two candidates who receive the most votes advance to the next round, as in a runoff election...
for the seat. In 1977, Edwards appointed her to the newly-established Board of Regents, the superboard under a new Louisiana State Constitution of 1974
Louisiana Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Louisiana is the cornerstone of Louisiana state law ensuring the rights of individuals, describing the distribution and power of state officials and local government, establishes the state and city civil service systems, creates and defines the operation of a state...
. She served in that capacity until 1990. Kirkpatrick worked to encourage music, art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
, and foreign language
Foreign language
A foreign language is a language indigenous to another country. It is also a language not spoken in the native country of the person referred to, i.e. an English speaker living in Japan can say that Japanese is a foreign language to him or her...
instruction in the public schools as a qualification for an incoming college student to receive a Regent scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
. The regents at the time also worked on the first master plan for higher education in the state.
In 1959, Kirkpatrick headed the woman's division for southwestern Louisiana campaign to elect James Houston "Jimmie" Davis
Jimmie Davis
James Houston Davis , better known as Jimmie Davis, was a noted singer of both sacred and popular songs who served two nonconsecutive terms as the 47th Governor of Louisiana...
to a second nonconsecutive term as governor of Louisiana. Like the Kirkpatricks, Davis was Baptist and an alumnus of Louisiana College. Davis and Mrs. Kirkpatrick were each active in the field of music, he as a singer of secular and sacred music, and she as an educator. Claude Kirkpatrick left the legislature and served as Director of Public Works in the second Davis administration and worked on the establishment of Toledo Bend Reservoir
Toledo Bend Reservoir
Toledo Bend Reservoir is a reservoir on the Sabine River between Texas and Louisiana. The lake has an area of 185,000 acres , the largest man-made body of water in Texas, the largest in the South, and the fifth largest in the United States. The dam is capable of generating 92 megawatts of...
. In 1963, Mrs. Kirkpatrick headed the women's division of her husband's unsuccessful gubernatorial primary campaign. During that time, she published a short book of favorite songs titled Louisiana Let's Sing in honor of her husband's candidacy.
Kirkpatrick's civic leadership
She was a contributing editor to the Louisiana Baptist Message denominational newsletterNewsletter
A newsletter is a regularly distributed publication generally about one main topic that is of interest to its subscribers. Newspapers and leaflets are types of newsletters. Additionally, newsletters delivered electronically via email have gained rapid acceptance for the same reasons email in...
from 1970-1975. She served on the Baptist state convention based in Alexandria
Alexandria, Louisiana
Alexandria is a city in and the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the principal city of the Alexandria metropolitan area which encompasses all of Rapides and Grant parishes....
, the seat of Rapides Parish. From 1969-1995, she was also chairman of the editorial board and a writer for Music Clubs Magazine, based in Indianapolis
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
.
Kirkpatrick over the years has been affiliated with the Baton Rouge Arts Council, the Community Fund for the Arts, the Red Cross, the Young Men's Christian Association, the Parent-Teacher Association
Parent-Teacher Association
In the U.S. a parent-teacher association or Parent-Teacher-Student Association is a formal organization composed of parents, teachers and staff that is intended to facilitate parental participation in a public or private school. Most public and private K-8 schools in the U.S. have a PTA, a...
, the Baton Rouge chapter of the National Conference of Christians and Jews
National Conference for Community and Justice
The National Conference for Community and Justice is a national, human relations, non-profit organization in the United States. Its mission is to fight bias, bigotry, and racism and promote understanding and respect through advocacy, conflict resolution, and education.The NCCJ was founded in 1927...
, since renamed the National Conference for Community and Justice. She was the founder and first chairman of the Youth Orchestra of the Baton Rouge Symphony.
In 1961, Louisiana College, presented Kirkpatrick with its Distinguished Alumni Award. In 1980, Louisiana College granted her its honorary doctorate degree. From 1960-1963, she was state president of Louisiana Baptist Women's Missions. In addition, she is a member of the National Federation of Music and served on the executive board of the group from 1979-1995. Her other organizations include Mortar Board
Mortar Board
Mortar Board is an American national honor society whose purpose is to recognize outstanding students dedicated to the values of scholarship, leadership, and service. The Cornell University Der Hexenkreis chapter, founded in 1892, is the oldest and predates the national society's founding in 1918...
, the first all-women's honor society, Omicron Delta Kappa
Omicron Delta Kappa
Omicron Delta Kappa, or ΟΔΚ, also known as The Circle, or more commonly ODK, is a national leadership honor society. It was founded December 3, 1914, at Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, by 15 student and faculty leaders. Chapters, known as Circles, are located on over 300...
, Sigma Alpha Iota
Sigma Alpha Iota
Sigma Alpha Iota , International Music Fraternity for Women. Formed to "uphold the highest standards of music" and "to further the development of music in America and throughout the world", it continues to provide musical and educational resources to its members and the general public...
music society, and Phi Kappa Phi
Phi Kappa Phi
The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi is an honor society established 1897 to recognize and encourage superior scholarship without restriction as to area of study and to promote the "unity and democracy of education"...
honor society.
Kirkpatrick is retired in Baton Rouge, where her two younger children, Edith and Charles, are practicing attorneys
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
. The older son, Thomas, a retired military officer and lawyer, contracted cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
in 2002 and died at the age of sixty-five in 2009. Endowed professorships in music in Kirkpatrick's name are offered at both Louisiana College and LSU. There is also a Claude Kent Kirkpatrick Scholarship in Health and Physical Education at Louisiana College.