Carol Duncan, a booster of Route 66 in western Oklahoma and a volunteer or officer for the Oklahoma Route 66 Association for over 30 years, died on Dec. 18 at a hospital in Oklahoma City. She was 80.
She was cremated and buried next to her parents in Lawnview Cemetery in Cordell, Oklahoma.
The association wrote this after the news of her death:
From Secretary to District Rep to Western Vice President, she pitched in with enthusiasm. It was Carol, along with Darrell Ray of Joplin, that championed the idea of Will Rogers Highway roadside monuments. This work led to multiple granite markers being installed across the state; the first Association-funded marker went up in Texola in 2002. Carol was an integral part of fundraising efforts, notably for Clinton’s Rio Siesta Motel sign that she and Don Mullenix worked together to rescue. Those funds are still reserved for that project, which is awaiting restoration in partnership with the Billboard Museum and the Oklahoma Historical Society.
Carol helped organize car cruises, including our first one in 1992. She would often be the first to arrive, setting up the registration table to make sure it all went smoothly. She led efforts to get more Route 66 books in local libraries, helped paint shields on the road, organized and participated in Andy Payne relays, worked the Association booth at events…whatever needed doing to keep Historic Route 66 alive. She researched and wrote stories that celebrated the highway, including co-authoring a book about the ill-fated Hotel Calmez in Clinton. She even published her own newsletter to make sure Western Oklahoma was not forgotten.
Carol was inducted into the Oklahoma Route 66 Hall of Fame in 2012 alongside the man she worked hard to recognize along the road that bore his name: Will Rogers.
Duncan was raised in the Route 66 town of Clinton, Oklahoma,
Association President Rhys Martin wrote about Duncan in a recent Facebook post:
Jim Ross commented in the thread: “She was also an excellent researcher and devout Route 66 advocate. She will be missed!” That’s high praise since Ross is no slouch in researching Route 66 himself.
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