Our Town is certainly a special place as you have seen me write many times in the last 5-plus years.
Special for many reasons, possibly the best, the life-long marital love connections it starts for our folks.
Like Shakespeare's classic play, "Romeo and Juliet", our little piece of magic here in north central Oklahoma, has been the meeting place of many couples that fall head-over-heals in love with each other. My focus today is about one of those incredible, life-long unions.
Tom Dupree Cathey and Mary Kay Gallagher Cathey.
This famous Our Town couple almost made it 53 years united in marriage before Tom, 72, passed away May 2 in Oklahoma City's St. Anthony Hospital. Their wedding day was May 6, 1967.
This particular love story began in the mid-1950's in Our Town. It certainly had a fairy tale-like beginning. Mattie Ruth Gallagher, Mary Kay's mother, would routinely take her elementary school daughter with her when she drove to the Aggiette Beauty Salon on North Duck Street. There in her iconic business, Tom's mother, Dorothy, was a beautician, and also sold Merle Norman cosmetics, Each time the Gallagher duo would arrive for Mrs. Gallagher's haircut, Mrs. Cathey would give her young son (the same age as Mary Kay) a quarter. The youngsters would then walk the short block southwest to nearby Andy's Grocery (present site of Joe's Clothes), and purchase sweet treats. And so, the eventual courtship was started.
The pair did not attend the same elementary school (Our Town had 6 in those days), but when 7th grade came along, we (me, also) all attended our jr. high school on South Duck Street, between West 10-12th Avenues. In the 9th grade, we traveled a block north on South Duck Street to West 9th Avenue, the current location of the Stillwater Community Center. Eventually, together we attended C.E. Donart (now SHS) High School 10-12th grades at it's present location on the north side of Our Town.
As Tom and Mary Kay grew up together attending Stillwater Public Schools, the duo were very social, and experienced our unique small town life together. Mary Kay says their mother's would take each child to the Saturday morning movies, and let them enjoy the films together. The couple would also attend Yost Lake (northeast of town) together on teen night, and be part of the drag Main Street scene between the nation's first Sonic and Griff's Drive-Ins, once cars/trucks became part of their local lives. Of course, they attended the high school prom together, too!
"Early on in our relationship", Mary Kay said, "we could tell each other everything, because we were really each other's best friend!"
So, it was on to college, first Oklahoma State University, then Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant (SEOSU) where both received undergraduate degrees in education. Tom continued his education at Durant, obtaining a master's degree there, and another a second master's later at OSU when the couple returned to Our Town in the 1970's. By then, they were parents, too, Scott, now 50, and R.(Ryan) C., now 46.
The influence Tom and Mary Kay have had on Our Town's youth for almost 3 decades has been absolutely incredible! He worked with special education/needs students at our jr. high school, while also coaching the jr' high golf team for years. She was a kindergarten and first grade teacher at Will Rogers Elementary school from 1977-2004. They were both "all-in" in their passions for teaching Our Town's youth for many years.
When retirement happened for both, Mary Kay said she and Tom were together "all the time".
"We never got tired of each other" she added sincerely.
. Remember, folks, this IS a never-ending love story!
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