Harmon County Oklahoma Genealogy and History - presented by Genealogy Trails

Harmon County, Oklahoma Biographies

ROYAL, DARRELL K. (1924 - ) Darrell K. Royal, former football coach and Athletic Director of The University of Texas at Austin, one of college football's greatest legends, and an endearing figure in state lore, was born July 6, 1924, in Hollis, Oklahoma, to Burley Ray Royal and Katy Elizabeth Harmon. Royal came to The University of Texas at Austin in 1957, ironically after being an All-American quarterback at the University of Oklahoma and following coaching stints at Mississippi State and the University of Washington, and, after only three years, established the Longhorns as a national power. In the 1960s alone, UT claimed two national titles (1963 and 1969); six bowl games, had a cumulative record of 86-19-2, and was named Coach of the Decade by ABC-TV. Overall, Royal finished his coaching career with a record of 167-47-5, with three national titles, 11 Southwest Conference championships, and 16 bowl games in 23 years, before retiring in 1976. Royal also served the University as Athletic Director in 1962 and oversaw the athletic department until 1980. Among Royal's legions of honors were induction into the National Football, Texas and Oklahoma Sports Halls of Fame and the Longhorn Hall of Honor and was twice named coach of the year by the American Football Coaches Association and three times by the Football Writers of America. Most importantly, Royal earned the respect and admiration of his players, coaches and opponents. "I'm not a football fan," President Lyndon Johnson said. "But I am a fan of people, and I am a Darrell Royal fan because he is the rarest of human beings." He married the former Edith Marie Thomason and is the father of three children.

Born in March 1871 in Talladega, Alabama, Lamar Looney was mother of six children under age ten when her husband of twelve years, D. T. "Doc" Looney, suddenly passed away in Greer County, Oklahoma, in 1900. Although her youngest child was only months old, she went to work as a music teacher. She filed on a land claim, but in 1902 she left her farm and moved to Hollis, where she opened an insurance and real estate office. Her life took a political turn when she was elected Harmon County register of deeds and then county clerk in 1916. By 1920 when women won the right to vote, Looney was so popular that she was able to unseat the male incumbent, G. L. Wilson, to become the first woman elected to the Oklahoma Senate. A progressive Democrat, she came out strongly in favor of women's equality. Looney educated Oklahoma women by giving speeches on topics such as "The New Responsibility of Women Since Suffrage." Senator Looney served from 1921 to 1929. During her first term she introduced twenty-eight bills, chaired the State and County Affairs Committee, and because parliamentary procedure was a hobby, presided over the Senate when it was her turn. After her first legislative session, the men with whom she served presented her with a nice leather handbag. The media reported that "the favorable impression she had made as a member of the Senate meant much for the whole state." While in office, she was successful in enacting legislation that would create equality for women and improved child welfare. Looney sought national office, running for the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, but never won. She died of heart disease at St. Anthony Hospital in Oklahoma City on September 3, 1935.