The Oklahoma City Community Foundation trustees and staff offer our sincere condolences to the family of Gae Rees.
For Gae and her husband, Ken, the inspiration to establish a fund with the Oklahoma City Community Foundation came from a suggestion from one of their daughters. Rather than sharing Christmas gifts with each other, they thought it would be a good idea for the family to make charitable gifts, and the Ken and Gae Rees Family Fund was born.
In 2012, Gae and Ken created the Breaking the Cycle of Poverty Challenge Grant, a multi-year grant up to $500,000 aimed at breaking the cycle of poverty. Now in its seventh grant cycle, the Rees family has helped launch outstanding and innovative programs for the Boys and Girls Club of Oklahoma County, ReMerge and the YMCA to name a few. Last fall, the Rees family awarded their most recent Breakout Challenge Grant to Lilyfield and the OKC Housing Authority to launch a project that will transform Will Rogers Court into a thriving community with services for all generations.
Gae graduated from the University of Illinois and married Ken in 1971. In 1980 they moved to Edmond, Oklahoma, where she invested her time as a mother and community volunteer. Gae was an active member of First Presbyterian Church of Edmond, where she served as a Sunday school teacher, youth leader, choir member and was ordained as an elder.
A celebration of Gae’s life is planned for February 22, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church of Edmond. Memorial gifts may be directed to the Edmond Fine Arts Institute, Edmondfinearts.com.
You may find Mrs. Rees’ obituary and information on the services here.