Jonathan David Friend

Jonathan David Friend, 87, of Stillwater, passed away Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008, at Saint John Medical Center in Tulsa. Memorial services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at the First United Methodist Church with the Reverend Stanley M. Warfield Jr. officiating. Private interment will be in Fairlawn Cemetery. Strode Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.He was born July 28, 1921, in Guthrie to David George Friend and Emma Sophia (Ficken) Friend. He was raised on a farm near Marshall and attended Marshall Public Schools for 12 years before graduating from Marshall High School in 1939. He began his college days at Oklahoma A and M College in the fall of 1939, enrolling in the School of Agriculture. While attending A and M he was a member of the livestock judging team and the Farm House Fraternity. He attended the School of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kan., while in the Army Specialized Training Program.After receiving his DVM degree in 1945, he was employed as a state veterinarian for the state of North Dakota, after which he held a similar position with the state of Oklahoma. In 1947-48 he was a member of a veterinary practice in Odessa, Mo.On September 1, 1948, he joined the faculty of the newly founded School of Veterinary Medicine at Oklahoma A and M College. He was with the veterinary school for 38 years, retiring in 1986. During his teaching career, he had the privilege of teaching all veterinary students that graduated from the school beginning in 1951 and including all classes through 1989.In 1949, he completed a B.S. in Animal Science from Oklahoma A and M College and in 1959 he was awarded an M.S. in Veterinary Anatomy from Kansas State University.During his professional career he belonged to many honorary and professional organizations on a local, state, national and international basis. As a visiting professor, he taught Veterinary Anatomy during the winter quarter of 1972 at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Nigeria, Africa.In 1971 and 1981 he was the recipient of the Norden Laboratories Award for distinguished teaching in the discipline of Veterinary Medicine. In 1979, he was presented with the Outstanding Teacher Award in the College of Veterinary Medicine from the Oklahoma State University Alumni Association and Blue Key.On his retirement in 1986, a Veterinary Library Endowment Fund was established in his honor by former students, colleagues and friends. In 2000, he and his wife had a residential hall on the campus of Oklahoma State University, Friend Hall, named in their honor.Besides Veterinary Medicine, he loved agriculture and farming, having owned farmland in Oklahoma and South Dakota. For many years he maintained a herd of registered Shorthorn cattle before dispersing them in 1994.He married Dorothy Claudine Lafferty on March 18, 1951, at the First United Methodist Church in Stillwater. From this union, three children were born: Lucinda Jane, Jonathan David and Jennifer Susan.He was a Christian, baptized and confirmed as a member of the Evangelical and Reformed Church in Marshall in 1934. For many years he was an active member of the First United Methodist Church in Stillwater. He and his sister established an endowed fund for Church World Service in honor of their parents. He was preceded in death by his parents; one brother, Edgar Friend; and three sisters, Alma Friend, Alwina Arnold and Cecilia Hay.He is survived by his wife, Dorothy Friend of Stillwater, one son Jonathan Friend and wife MaryJane of Tulsa, two daughters Lucinda Rarick and husband Ron of Muncie, Ind., and Jennifer Robinson and husband Kerry of Summerfield, N.C. He is also survived by eight grandchildren; Michael Moore and wife Lauren of Dallas, Travis Moore and wife Kobie of Beaverton, Ore., Hunter Robinson and wife Jennifer of Perkins, Heath and Wyatt Robinson of Summerfield, Ryan Friend and wife Leigh of Dallas, Natalie Friend of Tulsa and John Carl Rarick of Muncie. He is further survived by three sisters, Beata Hudson of Littleton, Colo., Bernice Walker of Stillwater, and Leta Faye Willhouse of Brownburg, Ind.In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in his name to the First United Methodist Church, Mission Fund, 400 W. 7th Ave., Stillwater, OK 74074 or the OSU Foundation, Jonathan and Dorothy Friend Fund for Veterinary Medicine Library, P.O. Box 1749, Stillwater, OK 74076.Condolences may be mailed to the family or e-mailed to friendjmj@gmail.com, and an online obituary may be viewed at www.strodefh.com