Roll Call Tribute
Bradley "Pete" Place Sr. '42 March 31, 2015 2:56 PM
Freeman Harris Funeral Home obituary
3333 E 41ST ST
Tulsa, OK 74135
(918) 749-3333
Bradley E Place
November 4, 1920 - January 4, 2015
Bradley E. Place, 94, passed away in Tulsa on January 4, 2015. The father of Actress, Mary Kay Place. Brad was an innovator in arts education, the longtime University of Tulsa arts department chairman developed various curricula through the years, but none made him more proud than his program for prison artists.
Starting at Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, Place began teaching art classes for inmates in the 1970s, and recruited other professors to join him. The program, well received by inmates and administrators alike, would even lead to exhibitions of the inmates’ works around the state.
Place enjoyed the experience, too.
Besides introducing him to some of the most attentive students he would ever work with, it affirmed something he strongly believed about art — how it could be a liberating force for all, no matter one’s station in life.
Bradley Eugene Place Sr., a TU professor emeritus, World War II veteran and father of actress Mary Kay Place, died Sunday. He was 94.
Place, a 2003 Governor’s Arts Award recipient, joined TU in 1947 as an art professor. Succeeding Alexandre Hogue in 1963, he was department chairman until his retirement in 1986.
Remembered for his warm smile, generous handshake and ability to make friends easily, Place was a popular figure on campus over his nearly 40 years there. In 1978, he was “Mr. Homecoming,” sharing the spotlight with his daughter, Mary Kay, who was named an outstanding alumnus.
He prided himself on always taking the time to talk to people, say those who knew him, even if it made him a little late for his next class. But he was never so late that he could be accused of neglecting his students. His devotion to them was beyond question, and he worked closely with the commercial art community to get them internships and jobs.
Teresa Valero, director of TU’s school of art, said, “It’s a testimony to Brad’s legacy that, to the end, his former students still went to visit him often. And I would often take current students to have lunch with him.”
Valero said Place will be on everyone’s minds this March, when the annual Gussman Student Art Exhibition kicks off. Place founded the event more than 45 years ago, she said, and was still attending up until recently.
“We hope to do something to honor him at it. He was a big fan of TU and the school of art until the day he died.”
An only child from Rule, Texas, who never lost his west Texas drawl, Brad Place grew up on his parents’ wheat and cotton farm.
Starting out at Texas A&M in architecture, he soon switched to North Texas State University to study graphic design. He graduated in 1942.
After that, Place served in the U.S. Marine Corps, seeing action in World War II at Okinawa and Peleliu Island.
Following the war, he worked as a draftsman with the Department of Agriculture before coming to TU.
Among Place’s many career honors, he was a recipient of the Harwelden Award for lifetime achievement, presented by the Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa. The Governor’s Arts Award he received was for his many contributions to arts and education in Oklahoma. Of those contributions, the prison art program would always hold a special place in Place’s heart. The inmates “really soaked up what you had to say,” he once told the Tulsa Tribune.
Place was also a charter member of the Tulsa Arts Commission and member of the Oklahoma Arts Council.
In addition, he was the judge for 30 years of AAA’s national safety poster contest.
In retirement, Place started a creative enterprise, Red Oaks Graphics, crafting large wall hangings and other works from various kinds of wood.
His son, Ken Place, a Tulsa artist and former actor, said the tone was set early for he and his siblings: “My parents didn’t push us in a particular direction. With them, it was always, ‘You can do anything you want to, if you want to bad enough.’ ”
His father’s “humanitarian spirit,” Ken added, was even more influential on his children than his love for the arts.
“He made everyone feel welcome. He had great energy and enthusiasm, especially for people.”
Place was preceded in death by his wife, Gwendolyn Place.
Survivors include three children, Brad Place Jr., Mary Kay Place and Ken Place; four grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
A Memorial Service is scheduled for 2 PM, Monday, January 12, 2014 in Sharp Chapel at The University of Tulsa.
Services
Memorial Service
Monday January 12, 2015, 2 PM at Sharp Chapel at The University of Tulsa
Click for Map and Directions
Donations in lieu of flowers to: Brad & Gwendolyn Place Scholarship Attn: Susie Thompson Institutional Advancement 800 S. Tucker Drive Tulsa, OK 74104
Sign the Guestbook
Share your thoughts and memories in the guestbook.
Sign the guestbook
Read the guestbook
Memorial donations can be made to:
Brad & Gwendolyn Place Scholarship - http://www.utulsa.edu/
3333 E 41ST ST
Tulsa, OK 74135
(918) 749-3333
Bradley E Place
November 4, 1920 - January 4, 2015
Bradley E. Place, 94, passed away in Tulsa on January 4, 2015. The father of Actress, Mary Kay Place. Brad was an innovator in arts education, the longtime University of Tulsa arts department chairman developed various curricula through the years, but none made him more proud than his program for prison artists.
Starting at Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, Place began teaching art classes for inmates in the 1970s, and recruited other professors to join him. The program, well received by inmates and administrators alike, would even lead to exhibitions of the inmates’ works around the state.
Place enjoyed the experience, too.
Besides introducing him to some of the most attentive students he would ever work with, it affirmed something he strongly believed about art — how it could be a liberating force for all, no matter one’s station in life.
Bradley Eugene Place Sr., a TU professor emeritus, World War II veteran and father of actress Mary Kay Place, died Sunday. He was 94.
Place, a 2003 Governor’s Arts Award recipient, joined TU in 1947 as an art professor. Succeeding Alexandre Hogue in 1963, he was department chairman until his retirement in 1986.
Remembered for his warm smile, generous handshake and ability to make friends easily, Place was a popular figure on campus over his nearly 40 years there. In 1978, he was “Mr. Homecoming,” sharing the spotlight with his daughter, Mary Kay, who was named an outstanding alumnus.
He prided himself on always taking the time to talk to people, say those who knew him, even if it made him a little late for his next class. But he was never so late that he could be accused of neglecting his students. His devotion to them was beyond question, and he worked closely with the commercial art community to get them internships and jobs.
Teresa Valero, director of TU’s school of art, said, “It’s a testimony to Brad’s legacy that, to the end, his former students still went to visit him often. And I would often take current students to have lunch with him.”
Valero said Place will be on everyone’s minds this March, when the annual Gussman Student Art Exhibition kicks off. Place founded the event more than 45 years ago, she said, and was still attending up until recently.
“We hope to do something to honor him at it. He was a big fan of TU and the school of art until the day he died.”
An only child from Rule, Texas, who never lost his west Texas drawl, Brad Place grew up on his parents’ wheat and cotton farm.
Starting out at Texas A&M in architecture, he soon switched to North Texas State University to study graphic design. He graduated in 1942.
After that, Place served in the U.S. Marine Corps, seeing action in World War II at Okinawa and Peleliu Island.
Following the war, he worked as a draftsman with the Department of Agriculture before coming to TU.
Among Place’s many career honors, he was a recipient of the Harwelden Award for lifetime achievement, presented by the Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa. The Governor’s Arts Award he received was for his many contributions to arts and education in Oklahoma. Of those contributions, the prison art program would always hold a special place in Place’s heart. The inmates “really soaked up what you had to say,” he once told the Tulsa Tribune.
Place was also a charter member of the Tulsa Arts Commission and member of the Oklahoma Arts Council.
In addition, he was the judge for 30 years of AAA’s national safety poster contest.
In retirement, Place started a creative enterprise, Red Oaks Graphics, crafting large wall hangings and other works from various kinds of wood.
His son, Ken Place, a Tulsa artist and former actor, said the tone was set early for he and his siblings: “My parents didn’t push us in a particular direction. With them, it was always, ‘You can do anything you want to, if you want to bad enough.’ ”
His father’s “humanitarian spirit,” Ken added, was even more influential on his children than his love for the arts.
“He made everyone feel welcome. He had great energy and enthusiasm, especially for people.”
Place was preceded in death by his wife, Gwendolyn Place.
Survivors include three children, Brad Place Jr., Mary Kay Place and Ken Place; four grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
A Memorial Service is scheduled for 2 PM, Monday, January 12, 2014 in Sharp Chapel at The University of Tulsa.
Services
Memorial Service
Monday January 12, 2015, 2 PM at Sharp Chapel at The University of Tulsa
Click for Map and Directions
Donations in lieu of flowers to: Brad & Gwendolyn Place Scholarship Attn: Susie Thompson Institutional Advancement 800 S. Tucker Drive Tulsa, OK 74104
Sign the Guestbook
Share your thoughts and memories in the guestbook.
Sign the guestbook
Read the guestbook
Memorial donations can be made to:
Brad & Gwendolyn Place Scholarship - http://www.utulsa.edu/
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