Dr. Elwin Fite

Dr. Elwin Fite was born on November 25th, 1913, at Willow Springs, MO. His parents were Austin and Minnie Fite. He married Mildred McKee December 22, 1935. Children were Barbara Fite Scearce and Jim Fite M.D. He was preceded in death by 4 brothers and 4 sisters, by his wife Mildred, his granddaughter, Sonja Fite, and his son-in-law Dr. William Scearce. Surviving family members are Barbara Fite Scearce, Jim Fite M.D. and wife Charlotte Sanders-Fite, Tracy FiteMD, grand daughter, Joe and Audra Scearce DO, Kelly Scearce, Marcella Fite, and other family members.

Dr. Fite received his Bachelor’s Degree in Education at Southwest Missouri State College in Springfield, MO, then his Master’s Degree at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, then his Education Doctorate at George Peabody College (now Vanderbilt University) in Nashville, TN in 1953. He then moved to Tahlequah where he resided since 1953. He taught music in public schools in Missouri and moved to Tahlequah in 1953 to begin work at Northeastern State University. He taught music, then he became professor and Chairman of the Education department at NSC, then became Dean of NSC, later NSU. He was interim President of NSU. He served in numerous capacities in Oklahoma for the advancement of elementary and higher education. . He developed 45 new programs at NSU, including Doctor of Optometry, from 1963-1978. While President of NSU, the prestigious top award for Excellence in Education was awarded NSU. He published 2 books and numerous articles related to education. He received citations and awards for education too numerous to mention and served the Oklahoma Board of Regents for Higher Education. He was named Outstanding Alumnus at Southwestern Missouri State University in 1994 and was named to the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame in 2001. He was a professional musician and taught many students and played violin in multiple symphony orchestras. He was Concert Master of the Ft. Smith Symphony in his retirement years. He was a member of Kiwanis Club in Tahlequah and a member of the Tahlequah Chamber of Commerce. He served in the United States Navy during World War II. Honors and people he helped are too numerous to list. He enjoyed fishing, woodworking, repairing musical instruments, and traveling. He helped numerous organizations and individuals in any way he could for as long as he could. He was a member of the First Baptist Church in Tahlequah. He and his wife performed as a musical duet many times for church and gatherings. He was a loving Father and a caring person. He was a humble unassuming man that never forgot his roots. He made a difference in the world.

He passed away after 98 years and 4 months and led a good full life. He passed away peacefully without suffering at 11:10 AM March 22, 2012. He will be missed so much by his family and friends.