Gae Rees

She graduated from the University of Illinois and during her early adult years worked for the Bell Telephone Company in San Francisco and Evanston, Illinois. She met and married Ken Rees in 1971, becoming mother to Ken’s two young sons, Ken Earl and Edward. A few years later she gave birth to two daughters, Beth and Susan.

In later years her family was blessed by the arrival of eight grandchildren. In 1980, the family moved to Ken’s hometown, Edmond, Oklahoma, where she pursued an active life as mother and community volunteer. She lived out her deep faith in service to First Presbyterian Church, where she served as Sunday school teacher, youth leader, choir member and ordained elder. In 1983, she led a few young mothers to found Edmond’s first arts education center for children and adults, the Edmond Fine Arts Institute, where she served as board president until it was able to secure an executive director. She was active in PEO, a women’s fellowship and service organization which she served as president. She joined her husband in establishing a charitable fund focused on efforts to enable children and their families to find pathways out of generational poverty, and she gave years of service as a mentor to inner city children. She was a long-time volunteer at the Edmond Hope Center and served on its board. She enjoyed golf with her special friends, camping and canoeing with her family and travel to many parts of the country and beyond. In later years she was challenged by the advance of Alzheimer’s disease, but she never lost her gift of expressing joy and love to those around her.

A celebration of Gae’s life is planned for February 22, 2025 at 1:00 PM at First Presbyterian Church of Edmond. Memorial gifts may be directed to the Edmond Fine Arts Institute, edmondfinearts.com