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Diane E. Althouse, 45, was four days away from vowing her devotion as an associate of a Catholic abbey, the Rev. Charles Buckley said.
Buckley, director of oblates at St. Gregory's Abbey in Shawnee said Althouse's oblation was scheduled April 23, a ceremony of devotion as a Benedictine Oblate Novice.
"She was very much given to her religion," Buckley said.
Althouse, a member of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church of Edmond, worked at the Housing and Urban Development Department in downtown Oklahoma City.
Memorials may be made to St. Gregory Abbey, 1900 W MacArthur Drive, Shawnee, OK 74801 or to the Disaster Relief Fund.
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Andrea Y. Blanton, 33, worked as a secretary at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Her husband is Daniel Blanton.
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Children, especially her 9-year-old son Corey, were a big part of Kim R. Cousins' life.
Cousins, 33, of Midwest City, was born in Ponca City, raised in Deming, N.M., and lived in East Texas before moving to the Oklahoma City metro area in 1985.
She was an active member of South Lindsay Baptist Church, where she was a second-grade Sunday school
teacher.
Cousins also was active in the Parent/Teachers Association and was a homeroom mother at Steed Elementary.
She had been married to husband Lyle M. Cousins for less than a year.
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Northwest Church of Christ minister Bill Day Jr. recalled that his sister, Diana Lynn Day, was always the one in his family with laughter, church secretary Gayle Thomas said.
"Probably everybody would tell you that she just always had a smile on her face," Thomas said of Day, 38.
Thomas said Day was an outgoing and bubbly person who will be missed greatly.
Day, who was the mother of Justin, 11, was a Housing and Urban Development program assistant. She and her son lived with her parents, Bill Sr. and Frankie Day.
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Castine Brooks Hearn Deveroux often talked of her faith and how much she had been blessed by God.
Deveroux, 49, attended St. John Missionary Baptist Church in Oklahoma City where she was an usher and participated in a prayer group.
Her prayer partner, Louise Peters, said Deveroux's comments were always touching and encouraging.
"She was a very lovely, devoted church member," Peters said.
Deveroux had worked for Housing and Urban Development for seven years.
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For about four months, Judy Fisher had been exercising her shopping talents.
While her husband, Marlon Fisher, was doing most of the physical remodeling of their home, Judy Fisher was busy picking out colors and supervising the project. The remodeling is about three-fourths finished, said her sister-in-law, Angie Jones.
The most important part of Fisher's life, however, was her family. She had three children and a stepdaughter, and they often went camping together, Jones said.
Fisher, 45, attended Community Bible Church and was involved in a prayer chain group. She worked for Housing and Urban Development.
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Although she had many special interests, most of Linda Louise Florence's free time was spent reading and teaching her son, John David.
Florence, 43, was a secretary for the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department.
She graduated from Putnam City High School in 1969 and had attended Oklahoma State University in Oklahoma City and Oklahoma City Community College.
Florence and her husband, David, had been married for 16 years.
With a love of traveling, Florence especially enjoyed going to the lake.
She also had an interest in photography.
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Colleen Guiles, 59, of Oklahoma City, was an underwriter for the Housing and Urban Development Department.
She had been a real estate broker in south Oklahoma City.
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His interest in sports and young people led Gene Hodges Jr., 54, to coach boys soccer for 5-year-olds.
He also coached Little League baseball in Norman where he had lived since 1973.
Hodges' government career extended more than 30 years. He was a supervisor for the Housing and Urban Development Department.
Hodges was married to Deb Hodges and had four children.
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She loved to learn and was working on her second degree in computer science at the University of Central
Oklahoma. She also loved gardening and was especially fond of azaleas.
Carolyn Ann Kreymborg, 57, died in the explosion with her daughter, Michelle Reeder.
They attended an azalea show in Oklahoma City as their last activity together.
Kreymborg, who was interested in art and enjoyed going to art museums, was an automation clerk for the
Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Her husband is James Kreymborg.
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Teresa Lea Lauderdale, 41, was a realty specialist with the Department of Housing and Urban Development. She loved people and people loved her, her family said.
Lauderdale, of Shawnee, had a selfless habit of placing the needs of others above her own and diligently worked to raise funds for worthy causes sponsored by the Federal Women's Program.
Described as a dedicated mother, Lauderdale taught her sons, Brian, 19, and Greg, 16, compassion, trust, thoughtfulness, integrity and, most of all, love.
Lauderdale had worked in the Oklahoma City HUD office for 13 years.
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Mary L. Rentie Mary Rentie was the type of person who put others before herself.
Her only brother, Greg Leasure, said Rentie was one year and two days older than him.
"When she started walking, she took care of me," he said.
Rentie had a good sense of humor, enjoyed quilting and was a wardrobe seamstress for some theater productions .
"She got real involved in quilting in the last few years and just loved it," Leasure said.
Rentie worked for the Department of Housing and Urban Development on the seventh floor of the federal building. She had worked for HUD for about six years.
The 39-year-old Bethany resident and her husband, Ben, have two daughters, Melissa and Melody.
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Just four months ago, James A. McCarthy, 53, was transferred to Oklahoma City.
McCarthy previously worked in the Kansas City office for the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department.
McCarthy had a wife and three children.
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The choir at St. Michael's Episcopal Church in Norman held a special place for Betsy Janice McGonnell.
An active member at St. Michael's, she served her church in a variety of ways, including lending her voice to the choir.
McGonnell, 47, also had served on the church vestry.
A native of Oklahoma City, McGonnell was a graduate of Northwest Classen High School and the University of Oklahoma.
She worked in Single Family Loan Management for the department of Housing and Urban Development. Previously, McGonnell had been employed in the office of personnel management.
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Her family never lost hope that she would be found.
Patricia "Trish" Nix's family saw a television news camera videotape shot shortly after the explosion of a woman resembling Nix sitting on a curb.
A photo taken from the video was shown by family members to Housing and Urban Development workers and hospitals in an effort to find their loved one.
Nix, 47, of Edmond, was a financial adviser for HUD. She also was a member of MetroChurch and collected antiques.
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Teddy bears were collectibles for Terry S. Rees, 41.
Rees loved to travel to teddy bear and crafts shows, friends and family members said.
She was supervisor of public housing for the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Rees was married to Bob Chumard.
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John T. Stewart, 51, of Midwest City enjoyed breeding and racing horses, as well as woodworking. Stewart was employed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and worked 27 years for the government.
Stewart was in the National Guard.
His brother, E.H. Stewart, of Shawnee, described him as, "easygoing."
"He minded his own business, looked after his own family," Stewart said.
His wife's name is Jean and they had three children.
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Four days before the explosion, John K. VanEss, 67, and his entire family - including children and grandchildren - gathered for a family portrait. It was the first time the family had done that, a friend said.
VanEss attended Oklahoma A&M on a basketball scholarship and in his first year there, played on a national championship team coached by the legendary Henry Iba.
VanEss would have retired from his longtime job at the Department of Housing and Urban Development at year's end.
He is survived by his wife, four children and four grandchildren.
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o Ann Whittenberg, 35, was known for the Italian cream and 7-Up pound cakes that she took to work and bake sales.
She was a program assistant at Housing and Urban Development.
"She was just a genuinely sweet person who was concerned about everyone," said her mother, Lee Ann Whittenberg.
Born Feb. 6, 1960, in Oklahoma City, Whittenberg also has a twin sister.
In addition, Whittenberg was never late.
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Department of Housing and Urban Development
To provide a decent, safe, sanitary home and living environment for every American through:
• Fighting for fair housing
• Increasing affordable housing and home ownership
• Reducing homelessness, promoting jobs and economic opportunity
• Empowering people and communities, and
• Restoring the public trust
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