Doris Bush Maher was born July 19, 1916 in Kansas City, Missouri to Arthur M. Bush and Stella Sharp Bush. She died Sunday evening, October 28, 2012 in her home in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the age of 96. The Bush family moved to Tulsa in the late 1920’s. Doris graduated from Tulsa Central High School’s class of 1934. She then attended the University of Tulsa where she was a member of Chi Omega sorority. In her junior year she was honored to be named TU’s Kendallabrum Queen. She graduated in the class of 1938 as one of the first women in Oklahoma with a degree in geology. Preceded in death by her first husband, John Leonard, Doris married Howard M. “Mc” Maher on January 28, 1961. For 36 years Howard and Doris were side-by-side in business and travel. In addition to the Bernsen Foundation of which Howard was president of the Board of Trustees, the couple shared mutual interests in a wide variety of charities and community organizations. Doris was a faithful member of First Presbyterian Church where she belonged to the Guild of Intercessors and the Christian Fellowship Class. Her business, charity and community interests included: Assistance League of Tulsa, CB & DG Chapters of PEO, Chi Omega Alumnae Association, Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), English Speaking Union, Gilcrease Museum, Happy Hands Education Center, John 3:16 Mission, Oklahoma Heritage Foundation, Oklahoma Historical Society, Philbrook Museum, Puccini Society, Sigma Alpha Iota, Tulsa Ballet, Tulsa Garden Center, Tulsa Opera, Tulsa Speech and Hearing, Tulsa University’s McFarlin Fellows, Tulsa University’s Research Challenge (TURC), Desk & Derrick Club of Tulsa, National Association of Royalty Owners (NARO), Oklahoma, Texas & Rockies Chapters of NARO, Southwest Kansas Royalty Owners Assoc. and the Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners Association. In addition to Howard, Doris was preceded in death by her sister, Dorothy Stewart of Broken Arrow, her brother Karl Dudley Bush of Wichita, and her special friend, Glenn Ramsay of Tulsa. She is survived by her daughter, Madeline Shuppy and husband, Larry, of Minneapolis, MN, four nieces: Patty Bailey of Broken Arrow, Sharon Winkle of Bixby, Beverly Kawabe of Fukuoka, Japan, Millicent Bush of Wichita and two nephews, Phillip Bush, also of Wichita, and Carl Bush of Ocean Shores, Washington and several great nephews and nieces.. Doris will be remembered for her graciousness, elegance, quick wit, intelligence, love of dance and generosity. Friends and family are invited to attend a memorial service conducted by Dr. Jim Miller at 2:00 p.m. Thursday, November 8, 2012 at the First Presbyterian Church located at 709 South Boston Avenue in Tulsa. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Helping Hands or Camp Loughridge at First Presbyterian Church of Tulsa or to a charity of your choice in memory of Doris Bush Maher. This obituary was published in the Tulsa World on 11/4/2012.
