48 Lavaughn Mae Bulling, ’57, music, died Dec. 9, 2010, at age 74. Mrs. Bulling lived in Orlando, Okla., where she and her husband of 53 years, John, raised four children and operated a cattle ranch. She grew up in Ripley, Okla., and attended Ripley Public Schools. She was a drum majorette in the marching band at OSU, where she earned a bachelor’s in music. Mrs. Bulling taught music at Perry High School and later at MulhallOrlando High School in Oklahoma. Under her tutelage, the glee clubs won awards for choral achievements at tri-state and state competitions. She left her teaching career to help operate Hereford Cattle Ranch. For 52 years, she was a music volunteer at Orlando Methodist Church. She loved all types of music and played the piano and organ. She enjoyed cooking, quilting, gardening and reading. She is survived by her husband John; four children, Teri Hirlinger, Rene Rodgers, Chris Bulling and Scott Bulling; 12 grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and a brother, Emmet Robison. Florence Blanche Baker Holbrook, ’37, music, died March 26, 2011, at age 94. Mrs. Holbrook was born April 13, 1916, in Kendrick, Okla. She was a graduate of Perkins (Okla.) High School. In 1937, she earned a bachelor’s degree in music from Oklahoma A&M. After working in Ripley, Okla., as a music teacher and band director, she directed the choir at First United Methodist Church of Perkins for 34 years. She later taught at Will Rogers Elementary School and Stillwater Middle School. In 1962, she earned a master’s degree in elementary education from OSU. During retirement, she and husband traveled throughout the United States. He preceded her in death in 2002. Perkins named the couple Ambassadors of Goodwill in 2002 and Honored Citizens during the Harvest Festival in 2002. She was a painter and a member of the Perkins Mutual Improvement Club, Kappa Kappa Iota Fraternity, Sigma Alpha Iota Fraternity and Stillwater Art Guild. She is survived by a sister-in-law, nieces, nephews, great nieces and many cousins. Martha Reed moved to Taos in 1953. For more than 38 years, she owned and operated the Martha of Taos shop. Her specialties were Navajo style clothing, including hand-pleated, calico, broomstick skirts and velvet blouses, adorned with sterling silver and turquoise butterfly buttons, hand sewn by local native seamstresses. Ms. Reed’s clothing designs earned her many honors and she often lectured about her work. Two of her designs were worn to functions at theWhite House. She loved to entertain. After the death of her father and mother, she bequeathed her property, consisting of two adobe homes and her father’s art studio, to OSU for use as a teaching facility. The result of her gift was the founding of the Doel Reed Center for the Arts as a tribute to her father who established OSU’s Department of Art in the mid-1920s. She died at her home in Talpa, N.M. She was a Taos area resident for 57 years. Dr. Tolson served for several years on the staff of the National Defense Education Act Institutes for Secondary School French Teachers. Classes taught by Dr. Tolson included a survey of the Caribbean French writers and writers of free black African countries using French as their main language. Denzel Washington in the movie The Great Debaters por trayed Dr. Tolson’s father, Melvin B. Tolson. Dr. Tolson Jr. earned a bachelor’s degree at Wiley College in the 1940s while his father taught there. He is survived by a brother, Arthur L. Tolson, and many relatives. In Memory Martha Reed, ’44, died Dec. 28, 2010, at age 88. Ms. Reed was born April 23, 1922, in Cincinnati and moved with her parents in 1924 to Stillwater. She received a bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma A&M in 1944. She was a Southwest fashion designer who is credited with popularizing Navajo broomstick skirts paired with traditional velvet or cotton blouses. She was the daughter of artists Doel and Jane Reed. Erik Paul Mason, ’82, geology, died July 31, 2010, at age 56. Mr. Mason was born in Quincy, Ill. He graduated from Principia College with a bachelor’s degree in geology. In 1982, he earned a master’s in geology from OSU. After working at Exploration Logging Co. and Phi l l ips Petroleum Co., he joined Shell Oil Co., where he was employed for more than 20 years. He was on assignment for Royal Dutch Shell in the Netherlands when he died. A member of the American Association of PetroleumGeologists, Mr. Mason had served as vice president, receiving its Distinguished Service Award. He received accolades from the Geological Society of both New Orleans and Houston. Mr. Mason was committed to the development of young geologists. In Mr. Mason’s memory, his family accepted the Bootstrap Legacy Award at the 2011 spring banquet for the Boone Pickens School of Geology at OSU. Mr. Mason is survived by his wife, Charlotte; his son, Wi l l iam; his mother, Patricia J. Gooddard; his two brothers, Kirk and Rex; and many family and friends. PHOTO BY PATTIE TRAYNOR Melvin B. Tolson Jr., ’50, French, died July 31, 2011, at age 88. Dr. Tolson was an emeritus professor of modern languages and literature and the first full-time, black faculty member at the University of Oklahoma. In 1950, he was one of the two first black people to earn a master’s degree from Oklahoma A&M. Dr. Tolson joined the OU faculty in 1959, two years after arriving in Norman as a doctoral student. He taught French for 31 years, won a Regents Award for Superior Teaching in 1967 and was elected into membership of OU’s chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa national honor society.
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