BARE, Flavia (Brown) Bare 

        Members of the campus community are mourning the death of Alumni President Flavia Bare, an outspoken supporter and genuine friend to the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.  She died Nov. 20, 2003 in Oklahoma City after a brief illness.
         Bare was a longtime member of the USAO community, and was serving her second year as president of the USAO Alumni Association. She was inducted to the USAO Alumni Hall of Fame in 2001.  
        "Few individuals in my experience have invested themselves in advancing the university as thoughtfully or compassionately as Flavia Bare," said USAO President John Feaver.  "Flavia loved her alma mater, and she stirred others to do the same.  Her family has touched four generations on this campus: from her mother, who attended in the 1920's … to Flavia, who graduated in 1949 … to her grandson James, who graduated just last year while he served as president of the Student Association.  Flavia was a leader in building and dedicating the 49er Chapel Bridge last fall.  Her enthusiasm was contagious.  She will not soon be forgotten." 
        Memorial Services are scheduled at 10 a.m. Nov. 24 at Quail Springs Baptist Church, located on May Avenue north of Memorial Road in Oklahoma City. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that gifts be made in her honor to the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma Foundation or Alumni Association or to the Quail Springs Baptist Church.
        Bare was born Oct. 30, 1927. Through her 76 years on this Earth, Flavia lived a life of faith in Jesus Christ, love, and service. She was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, to William Spence and Flavia (Tigner) Brown. 
        She came to Oklahoma in 1946 to attend the Oklahoma College for Women. While attending OCW, where she graduated in 1949 with a degree in French, she met her husband and the love of her life, James Doyle Bare. They married in January 1949, and made Oklahoma their home. 
        The Bares welcomed two sons, James D. Bare Jr. and William Robert Bare.  They raised the boys together in a house full of love, and when they were old enough, she returned to the work force, becoming a dedicated fundraiser and executive for the Oklahoma Arthritis Foundation, the Oklahoma Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and finally, the Oklahoma division of the American Cancer Society.
        Flavia served in many capacities for the ACS, including Executive Director, Crusade Director, Deputy Executive Vice President, and as the first female Executive Vice President in the nation. She contributed her time, energy, and creativity to such programs as the Great American Smoke Out, the first “Donate Your Car to the American Cancer Society” program, the first youth summer camp for children with cancer in Oklahoma, and countless others. Her efforts saved lives and brought great joy and comfort to others. Throughout her busy working career, she still made time for Eastern Star, becoming a Worthy Matron in the organization and a mentor for many of its participants.
        After her retirement, Flavia continued to touch the lives of the people around her, as a doting wife, mother, and grandmother, serving as a Sunday school teacher, and becoming President of the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma Alumni Association. She had the rare ability to be both a role model and a friend to all of those around her, and her influence will live on through the hundreds of people whose lives she changed.
        She is survived by her husband, James D. Bare, of the home, her son James D. Bare Jr. and his wife, Linda, of Houston Texas, and their children, Jennifer Temple, James, and Brenda, her son William Robert Bare and his wife, Rita, of Oklahoma City, and their daughters Elizabeth, Meredith, and Suzanne.  
        A viewing is scheduled at Hahn-Cook Street and Draper Funeral Home on Sunday, Nov. 23, from 3 to 5 pm.