Marjorie Lenochan Dougherty has spent over four decades of her life encouraging, mentoring,
influencing and educating the youth of Oklahoma. Holding a master of education degree,
Mrs. Dougherty has served as the education coordinator for the Frances Willard Home
for Girls in Tulsa. She was the education director for the Tulsa Boys’ Home from 1976-78;
special education supervisor from 1970-76; coordinator of the Resource Center, 1969-70,
and a teacher in special education from 1955-69, all in the Tulsa Public School System.
In addition, Mrs. Dougherty has directed remedial reading clinics and summer day camps
for the handicapped, has supervised the writing of innovative programs for deaf children
and children with retardation and learning disabilities, and also cooperated in writing
a program for adults, “Basic Education for the Mentally Retarded,” the only known
program of its kind in the United States. She participated in a conference on education
sponsored by Governor George Nigh and served on a panel for “Religious Education for
the Retarded,” at the state convention of the Oklahoma Association for Retarded Children.
Mrs. Dougherty has attended Oklahoma College for Women, Central State University,
University of Oklahoma, University of Denver and the University of Tulsa. In addition,
the educator has studied in numerous workshops and seminars in Colorado, Oklahoma
and California. She holds teaching certificates in elementary education and in high
school art and standard certificates in special education and visiting counselor.
Mrs. Dougherty was honored by her teaching peers in 1975 when she was named as the
Outstanding Educator in Oklahoma by the Oklahoma Educators Association. Her induction
into the USAO Alumni Hall of Fame in 1980 placed her as the 20th so honored since
the inception of the Hall of Fame Awards in 1972.