Stanley Francis Hupfeld

Stanley Francis Hupfeld III was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 18, 1944, to Stanley and Dorothy Hupfeld. He grew up in Dallas, Texas, graduated from Jesuit College Preparatory School, and continued his studies at the University of Texas at Austin, where he majored in history and was a proud member of the Longhorns’ 1963 National Championship football team. He later earned his Masters in Healthcare Administration from Trinity University in San Antonio.

Stan served his country as an officer in the United States Army Medical Service Corps which included service in Vietnam.

In 1968 Stan married Suzanne “Suzie” Dunne, the girl next door. They would spend the rest of his life together raising three children, Matthew, Kelly and Kate, and eventually welcoming six grandchildren.

Stan spent his professional life in healthcare; however, describing him simply as a hospital administrator does not fully capture his impact on the industry. He was a builder, an innovator of the future, and an outspoken advocate for making healthcare better.

His career began in 1973 in El Paso, Texas as president of St. Joseph Hospital when he was only 29 years old. Four years later he became president of All Saints Hospital in Ft. Worth where he served for the next decade.

In 1987, Stan moved to Oklahoma City as President and Chief Operating Officer of Baptist Medical Center. In 1995, under Stan’s leadership, Baptist Medical Center and Southwest Medical Center merged to form INTEGRIS Health, the largest healthcare system in Oklahoma. INTEGRIS Health was home to Stan until his retirement in 2010. During the next 12 years Stan represented INTEGRIS as a senior consultant, a nationwide speaker, and as Board Chair of the Oklahoma Hospital Association.

Stan believed that leadership meant getting out from behind the desk. He was a familiar presence throughout INTEGRIS, rounding hospitals, serving holiday dinners to employees, having impromptu lunches with employees in the cafeteria, and never taking himself too seriously. He was famous for putting himself at the center of funny skits and jokes, especially when it brought people together. Long before “employee engagement” became a fixture of healthcare leadership, Stan understood that people needed to know their leaders, and leaders needed to know their people.

He also believed healthcare organizations had a responsibility that extended beyond the walls of the hospital. That belief is best illustrated by one of the accomplishments of which he was most proud

In the late 1990s, Western Village Elementary School in Oklahoma City was struggling and faced the possibility of closing. Under Stan’s leadership, INTEGRIS became deeply involved in the school and its surrounding neighborhood, helping transform Western Village into the nation’s first hospital-sponsored public charter school. Academic performance improved dramatically, enrollment more than doubled, and the school became a center not only for education, but also for health improvement, one-on-one mentoring, and community involved services.

When Stan retired, the INTEGRIS Health Board of Directors renamed the school Stanley Hupfeld Academy at Western Village in recognition of his commitment to the children, and his leadership. In

2026, the school began another chapter as Hupfeld Fine Arts Academy, becoming the elementary feeder school to Harding Fine Arts Academy. It was an evolution Stan was excited to witness.

Stan’s influence extended well beyond INTEGRIS Health. He served on the Board of Directors of the American Hospital Association and was honored in 2007 with the AHA Award of Honor. He wrote extensively about healthcare delivery and public policy, including a monthly column for The Journal Record, and his book Political Malpractice: How the Politicians Made a Mess of Health Reform.

Throughout his life Stan felt a deep commitment to his communities. He chaired United Way campaigns in both Fort Worth and Oklahoma City, served as Chairman of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, and gave his time and leadership to a multitude of civic organizations.

In all of his accomplishments, however, none was the role by which his family knew him best. To them, he was simply, “Gup.”

Gup is survived by his beloved wife Suzie; son, Matthew Hupfeld, and his wife, Shari, and their sons, Travis and Turner; daughter, Kelly Merkur, and her husband, Evan, and their daughters, Evie and Cami; and daughter, Kate Halinski, and her husband, Patrick, and their daughters, Annie and Claire.

Gup loved his family, his friends, golf, Texas football, travel, history and fried shrimp. He was a gifted storyteller, always willing to share a story and even more willing to pick up a microphone and speak before a crowd. He had a big personality, a quick wit, an infectious laugh and an unmistakable presence.

Every summer Gup brought his family together for “Camp Hupfeld,” an annual gathering that is one of the family’s most cherished traditions. It was quintessential Stan: family together, great food, lots of laughter, stories being told and memories being made.

Stan spent his life building things that would last, from hospitals and health systems to community institutions and a school, all with the goal of better serving the people and communities he cared about. He had a world-wide network of business associates and friends. He was proud of what he accomplished and the impact he made, and equally proud of the family he and Suzie built together.

His voice, his humor, his stories and his unmistakable presence will be deeply missed. Friendships he forged will be remembered. The institutions he helped build will carry on. So will Camp Hupfeld. And so will the countless stories about Gup, which is exactly how a great storyteller ought to be remembered.

In lieu of flowers the family asks that memorial contributions be made to the Hupfeld Fine Arts Academy.