Owasso attorney and long-time civic leader Harold Charney died Friday, September 23, 2016, in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Charney was born in Henryetta, OK in 1930. Charney graduated from Henryetta High School in 1948, earning State Championship honors in both Debate and Extemporaneous Speaking. After enlisting in the Army and completing active-duty service, Charney attended the University of Oklahoma. Upon graduating from law school at OU, Charney married Yolanda Velarde, who became his wife of sixty years. Together, in 1956, they established Charney’s law practice in Owasso, Oklahoma. Harold and Yolanda grew into a prominent, civic-minded couple, actively addressing local issues concerning education, community relations and social justice.
In addition to an active law practice that spanned nearly fifty years, Charney served as the inaugural President of the Tulsa County Vo-Tech School Board. During his 36 year tenure on that Board, Charney helped lead the school system to a position of national prominence for its excellence in Career Tech educational services.
Early in his legal career, Charney worked for Tulsa County Legal Aid, serving indigent clients from all backgrounds. That experience was formative, as pro-bono services to the less advantaged permeated his law practice throughout his career. Charney also served on the Owasso City Council and later served as the Owasso City Attorney. He worked passionately on behalf of Owasso in his early years, helping to establish the vision and the foundation that would allow for Owasso’s tremendous growth from a small bedroom community to a thriving suburb in the last 20 years.
Charney, a lover of the performing arts, also served as the President of the Oklahoma Professional Theatre Foundation which revived the Tulsa Summer Musical series in the late 1970’s. An avid reader and writer of poetry, Charney spoke annually for many years at the Tulsa Library’s “Harold Charney Poetry Festival for Children”, sharing his love of poetry with children throughout the Tulsa area.
Charney is survived by his wife, Yolanda, and their three children, Rebecca, David and Eliot, their five grandchildren and their two great grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held at B’nai Emunah Synagogue, 17th & Peoria, on Monday, September 26, 2016, at noon. In lieu of flowers, donations in Charney’s memory may be made to the Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma.
