Reba McClanahan

Reba Fay (Hicks) McClanahan was born on April 3, 1940, to James Crockett (J.C.) & Ada Marie (Hilton) Hicks in Hobart, OK and passed from this life on August 24, 2019, in Tulsa, OK at the age of 79. Reba is survived by her sons, and daughters-in-law; James McClanahan and Jessica Hutchinson, Johnny and Dee McClanahan; grandchildren; Kloey, Kady, Josh, Larry, Wayne, and Shirley. She is preceded in death by her husband, Don Paul McClanahan, parents, Ada, and J.C. Hicks and seven siblings. After graduating from Cordell High School in 1958, she attended Southwestern State College in Weatherford, OK, where she majored in business education. Reba married her first husband, Lowell Duren on December 18, 1960. She began her career at Sayre High School in Sayre, OK, where she was an English teacher for two years. She then moved to Moore, OK where she taught business at Moore High School for two years. Reba furthered her education by obtaining a master's degree in business education from the University of Wisconsin in Whitewater, WI. She and Lowell then moved to Westminster, MD, where she was the chairman of the business department in a large high school. At this time in her life, she began riding a motorcycle in part fueled by the gas crisis in that area. Reba fell in love with riding motorcycles. She and her first husband decided to pursue the purchase of a motorcycle dealership available in Tulsa, OK so she could move closer to home. On July 13, 1977, she purchased a Harley-Davidson dealership that was opened in 1914 by the Eby brothers and in 1949 sold to G.E. "Dutch" Myers. At that time, there were two full-time employees and one part-time employee. Her corporate attorney, Thomas Williams, who helped with the purchase of the dealership, suggested they keep the previous owner's name, Myers, in addition to their name, Duren, to name the dealership. That is how Myers-Duren Harley-Davidson began. Soon after purchasing the dealership, her first husband decided to leave. Reba had reservations about running a Harley-Davidson dealership all by herself and even entertained the idea of selling the dealership. At the time, she had an employee, Howard Swafford, that encouraged Reba to run the dealership on her own. She found the courage and overcame many obstacles to run a very successful dealership all by herself. On September 1, 1979, she married Don McClanahan. He was instrumental in bringing new merchandising ideas to help grow the business. James McClanahan was born in 1981 in Tulsa, OK and grew up in the family business. Don's adult son, Johnny McClanahan, joined her business as Sales Manager in 1982 and later became General Manager. Then, James joined the business in 1999 as Assistant General Manager. In 1998, she bought land and built a brand new 20,000+ square-foot art-deco building. She owned one of the most successful Harley-Davidson dealerships in the United States for over 42 years. Currently, her dealership is ranked top twenty in the nation. Today, she has forty-seven employees, not including a dozen contract workers. At 79 years old, Reba continued to frequent her business to interact with family, employees, and customers, which she considered her extended family. Her philosophy for the business from the very first day was to treat people the way she would like to be treated. She tried to look at problems through the customer's eye more so than through her own eyes. She was an inspiration to women, business owners, and motorcycle enthusiasts. Although she was faced with many challenges throughout the years, she used those obstacles to help drive herself forward and persevere. Reba will be remembered as a phenomenal storyteller who used her life experiences to inspire others to better themselves. Reba loved her family, business, riding motorcycles, traveling, listening to Elvis, playing slot machines, and enjoyed supporting different charities such as Make-A-Wish Oklahoma and Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). In 2013, Reba proudly completed traveling to all fifty states. A viewing will be held Wednesday, August 28, 2019, 12-8 pm at Moore Southlawn Funeral Home, 9350 East 51st Street, Tulsa, OK. Funeral services will be held Thursday, August 29, 2019, 10 am at Boston Avenue United Methodist Church, 1301 South Boston Avenue, Tulsa, OK. The final resting place will be Memorial Park Cemetery in Tulsa, OK where Reba will be buried next to her beloved husband, Don McClanahan. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Make-A-Wish Oklahoma, http://oklahoma.wish.org or CANCER SUCKS!, http://cancersucks.com . Moore's Southlawn 918-663-2233 share memories at www.moorefuneral.com

Reba McClanahan

April 3, 1940 - August 24, 2019