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Alane Baird Atkinson Winburn, 81, of Norman, died on September 7, 2012 after a period of declining health. She was born September 30, 1931 in Glen Ellen, Illinois to Samuel Alan and Lela Hunsley Baird. She had resided at Rivermont Retirement Community in Norman since 2011.
Reared in Peoria, Illinois, Alane graduated from Peoria High School in 1949 and later earned a Bachelor’s degree in Technical Journalism and Child Development from Iowa State University in 1953. She began graduate work at the Merrill Palmer Institute in Detroit, MI, continuing her studies at University of Maryland, and ultimately earning Masters Degree in Human Relations from the University of Oklahoma in 1974.
Alane moved to Norman from Adelphi, Maryland in 1971 when her first husband, Gordon Atkinson, accepted a teaching position at the university. A second generation Unitarian, Alane and her family soon joined the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (now West Wind Unitarian Universalist Congregation), a congregation of which she was proud to remain a member until her death.
Beginning in 1980, Alane was employed in several capacities by the State of Oklahoma’s Department of Mental Health. She retired as the Director of the Human Resources Development Division in 1996.
In the 1980s, Alane was included on Governor Henry Bellmon’s list of “80 Women for the 80s.” Active in many community service agencies in Norman, one of Alane’s proudest moments was to co-found and become the first director of The Women’s Resource Center. This agency grew to include the Rape Response Team and Norman’s first Shelter for Battered Women. Alane was also a long-time board member and former chairman of the Social and Voluntary Services Commission, Bethesda Alternative, and Thunderbird Clubhouse, Inc. In the late 1990s, she was a member the Community Services Building Board, serving as Project Manger when the building was renovated in 1999.
Alane is survived by her children, Alan Atkinson and wife Susan of Norman, Gwyneth Atkinson Noble, of Phoenix, AZ, and Valerie Atkinson of Norman; by life partner Thomas P. Stanton of Santa Barbara, CA, and by grandchildren Sean Noble and partner Katie Larsen, Trevor Noble, Meredith Redman, Owen and Gwyneth Atkinson, and by great-granddaughter, Elizabeth Alane Noble. She was preceded in death by her parents and by her second husband, Carl Winburn.
A lover of cats and dogs and all facets of the natural world, Alane enjoyed many happy hours watching songbirds through her breakfast room window. A resident of far east Norman for thirty years, she reveled in the wildlife that were regular visitors to her deck. She also loved books and classical music. She and partner Tom Stanton were loyal patrons of the Oklahoma City Philharmonic Orchestra.
The family requests that memorial contributions be made to:
Thunderbird Clubhouse, Inc. of Norman at
www.thunderbirdclubhouse.org/donations or
Second Chance
Animal Sanctuary
www.secondchancenorman.com/donate
A celebration of Alane’s life is scheduled for Tuesday, September 11 at 4pm at the West Wind Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 1309 W. Boyd. Arrangements for Alane and her family have been placed in the care of the Vice Family at the Havenbrook Funeral Home of Norman. Online condolences may be shared at www.havenbrookfuneralhome.com
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