Jann Jeffrey

Jann went quietly into the next existence on June 24, 2024. She was born in Oklahoma City, Dec. 29, 1940 of Jessie Leister Keys and Dick Keys.

She attended Hawthorne Elementary, Kendall Elementary in Tulsa, Linwood Elementary, Taft Jr. High, and Classen High. She was currently serving as secretary of the Classen Alumni Association. When her mother remarried in 1948 she took the last name of her step-father, Albert Lowther, and was known as Jann Lowther. She continued her pride in her Keys heritage however and remained close to her Keys cousins.

She began drawing as a very young girl remembering that as a preschooler she was so pleased to discover how to draw perspective with a more mature eye. Her wonderful elementary school art teacher, Marge Humphrey encouraged Jann to draw and experiment. Jann studied as a fine art major at the University of Oklahoma. This led her toward a lifetime career in art which she never regretted. She received a Master’s degree from Central State University [now UCO]. Not only was she a painter but also explored the possibilities of hot kiln-fired glass, floor loom weaving, photography, and all forms of printmaking. One of the highlights of her career was when she was chosen with only 15 other women to be part of a group collaborative art project with Judy Chicago.

She also received the national recognition of being part of a residency study at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater. Jann garnered awards including the Mayor's Award for guiding her art students as they made books for blind and partially sighted children. She won numerous recognitions for her artwork as it appeared in juried exhibits, one-person shows, and was included in a gallery exhibition in New York City. Her works are part of collections in Oklahoma, Texas, Minnesota, and Washington.

She taught art students at Bishop McGuinness, Heritage Hall, Angelina College [TX], Corrigan Camden High School [TX], OCCC and Rose State College and gained numerous recognitions as an outstanding art educator. Her students won numerous scholarships, awards and recognition. She was a very active member of the Oklahoma Art Education Association for which she served as Pres., Tres., and Newsletter Editor, Young Talent in Oklahoma Chair, & Portfolio Day Chair. She was honored as the Oklahoma Art Educator of the Year in 1988. Jann was a devoted docent at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. She readily recognized the influence of Bryon Chambers on her broadening knowledge.

Jann was the mother of three wonderful daughters by her first marriage: September Landers, (husband John) Heather Wilson, Jill Heare. When she married her life-long friend, David Jeffrey, in 1988 she gained four more wonderful children: Mike (wife Kelly), Jenny Scott (husband Joe), Layne DeBardelaben (husband Rob), and Doug (wife Lindsay). She loved all 11 grandchildren - Matthew, Elizabeth, Lytle, Ilora, Holly, Rebecca, Haden, Amryn, Sunday, Allison, and Aaron - and recognized the special talents each possessed. Although she hadn't yet met them, Jann held her great-grandchildren dear to her heart: Scarlett and Judah.

She leaves behind a group of friends whose love and support have sustained her since 1966. These ladies are lovingly called the Crazy Ladies by their husbands: Joyce Hudson, Jeannie Lemons, Paula Stanford, Elaine Reeves, Karolyn Rusch. There were four who preceded her in death: Fran Wilkinson, Nelda Pendergraft, Neoma Staples, and Shirley Carpenter. Jann grew up as a member of the First Baptist Church, OKC. In 2005 she was pleased to find a minister guide, Rev. Robin Meyers. This association allowed her to serve the homeless through the "363" and to serve on the Benevolent Commission. She was profoundly interested in helping women all over the world through loans distributed through Kiva, Atnani, Women for Women, and Heifer International. She cherished the letters she received from those women she sponsored.

A memorial service for Jann will be held Saturday, August 24, 2024 at 2:30 PM at Hahn-Cook/Street & Draper, 6600 Broadway Extension, Oklahoma City, OK 73116.

In lieu of flowers it is requested that donations be sent to the Heritage Hall Art Department, Rose State College Art department, or Austin Heights Baptist of Nacogdoches, TX.