Obit of Crockett, Dr. Norman L. - Oklahoma County, Oklahoma

Submitted by: Gene Phillips <okarchives@comcast.net>   19 Feb 2006
Return to Oklahoma County Archives:
http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/oklahoma/oklahoma.html
==========================================================================
                             USGENWEB NOTICE
                     Copyright.  All rights reserved.
             http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.html
==========================================================================
::Primrose FH--Norman OK

Crockett, Dr. Norman L.

Dr. Norman L. Crockett, Professor Emeritus of History at the University of 
Oklahoma, died at age 71 in Oklahoma City, August 13, 2005, following a 
lengthy illness. Born January 6, 1934 in Liberty, Missouri to Ezra and 
Sarah Crockett, he grew up in Kearney, Missouri and graduated from Kearney 
High School in 1952. He earned a BS degree in Education and MA and Ph.D. 
degrees in History at the University of Missouri before embarking on a 
career in higher education. He held teaching positions at West Texas State 
University, Amarillo College, and the University of Missouri, Rolla, prior 
to joining the faculty in the Department of History at the University of 
Oklahoma in 1969. Crockett taught courses in economic and constitutional 
history, as well as archival studies, in the Department of History, and a 
range of seminars in the humanities and social sciences in the College of 
Liberal Studies. A much-respected classroom professor, he received 
numerous awards for his exemplary teaching including the OU Alumni 
Association's Jasper P. Baldwin Award in 1985 for excellence in 
undergraduate education, the Merrick Foundation Teaching Award in 1986 for 
excellence in teaching, the Kenneth E. Crook Liberal Studies Faculty Award 
in 1987 for exemplary service in student advising, seminar teaching, and 
program development, and the Oklahoma Medal of Excellence in Teaching and 
Administration in 1992 for his contributions to higher education. 
Crockett's service to the administration of the university's academic 
programs was also substantial. He served as a member of the graduate 
faculty, as Assistant Chair of Graduate Studies, and as Chairman of the 
Department of History. He helped revise the social science curriculum in 
the College of Liberal Studies and served as Chair of its Executive 
Committee. Crockett also compiled an impressive record of scholarship, 
including numerous scholarly journal articles in economic, regional, and 
African-American history, and several important historical monographs, 
including The Power Elite in America, The Woolen Industry of the Midwest, 
and The Black Towns, the seminal work on the post Civil War development of 
African-American communities. He also edited several works, including A 
New Order in the World: Readings in American History, 1607-1861. He 
received an Earhart research fellowship in economic history from the Relm 
Foundation in Ann Arbor, Michigan, a Newcomen Fellowship in Economic and 
Business History at Harvard University, and several university research 
grants. In 1998 he was inducted into the Oklahoma Historians Hall of Fame 
by the Oklahoma Historical Society in recognition of his exemplary 
teaching and scholarship. Upon his retirement from the university faculty 
in 1998, the university conferred on him the status of Professor Emeritus, 
citing his outstanding research, superb teaching, and passion for sharing 
his knowledge and expertise with his students. Crockett was preceded in 
death by his second wife, Judith Bratcher Crockett, and his parents, Ezra 
and Sarah Crockett. He is survived by his children Colleen Crockett Reid, 
her husband Russell Reid, and their children, Robert, Paige, and Ryan of 
Atlanta, Georgia; Denise Crockett Johnson, her husband Keith Johnson, and 
their son Matt of Kansas City, Missouri; Linda Harrell, her husband James 
Harrell, and their children James, Ruby, Matthew, Adrian, and Michelle of 
Norman; Scott Crockett and his wife Denise of Dallas, Texas; and Norman, 
Crockett, Jr. of Kansas City, Missouri; two step-children, Kelly Bratcher 
and his wife Heather of Tulsa; Jill Bratcher Pelosi, her husband Michael, 
and their daughter, Madelyn of Oklahoma City; and a brother William 
Crockett and his wife Emma Lou of Punta Gorda, Florida. A memorial service 
will take place at the Primrose Chapel in Norman at 6:00 PM Wednesday, 
August 17, 2005. Interment will be in Kearney, Missouri. In lieu of 
flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the University of Oklahoma 
Foundation, Inc., Attention: Department of History Fund, 100 Timberdell 
Road, Norman, Oklahoma, 73019.

Published in The Oklahoman on 8/16/2005.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Return to Oklahoma County Archives:
http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/oklahoma/oklahoma.html